The Butterfly's Dream
by Kerberos314
Summary: She dreamed that she lived a sad life. He dreamed that he lead a happy one. When they woke, they questioned which it was. Both were true, but only one was a lie.
1. Preamble

**So, another new story that's been bumbling around inside of my head, ever since I did the Omake for S &F. Unlike the others, this one may be able to stand on its own either in a single oneshot, or perhaps a series of stories in similar veins. I'm really just stamping this out because I know that I'm going to be deluged with schoolwork in the coming weeks, and I didn't want to lose the inspiration. As such, you may or may not notice a diminishing quality (and quantity) compared to my other works thus far. But, there it is. **

**I like to explore personality and human thought, in case you haven't noticed (I exempt first time readers who have NO idea what you're getting in to, he, he he…). And while that isn't typically the thing people come to FF looking for, I think there are enough of us here to warrant further development. To that end, I hope I do a good job with this.**

 **Suggestions always welcome.**

…

Ruby Rose was a happy child.

She had been for as long as she could remember.

Her days were filled with joy, encouraged by her loving family who made every effort to raise her into an equally happy woman. None of them ever wanted to see that innocent joy disappear.

Every day she would wake up next to her sister, who even if only related half by blood, accepted and doted on her unmercifully. Every day the two would spend time together, sharing the dream of becoming strong huntresses, in order to protect the ones they held dear.

But from what, they could only fathom.

Every day their father would help them in this endeavor, training them both in and out of school to be well-adjusted and strong in the face of the adversity they never encountered. He loved them both equally as much as he loved the two women who sired them, and never placed one's contentment above the other, nor his own above theirs.

Every day their mother would do similarly, spending as much time with them as possible before she had to go off to fulfil her own duties as a huntress. But they didn't mind, because they understood the need for such people, and admired the women for her strength. In fact, it was her inspiration that stirred them to follow in her footsteps.

They thought they understood.

Whenever she could, Summer Rose would rush home and use the bottomless energy she passed on to Ruby so that she might spend every spare second with them, playing games of fantasy and baking them homemade cookies, sneaking in the secrets of life with every heartfelt interaction.

The lessons going in one ear, and out the other.

They would spend many happy years in that remote house on the sparsely populated island of Patch, far removed from the cold indifference of the capital. Every day would be spent in the betterment of not only themselves, but the world around them.

Because the world was far from perfect, as they would come to understand.

Monsters known as Grimm wandered the countryside, drawn to negative emotions and sustained only by human flesh. It was these creatures which necessitated the existence of huntsman and huntresses. And their proliferation forced human beings into sheltered enclaves, bound together in cages of their own making to ward off the danger they posed.

And it was these creatures, the very ones they hunted, which eventually proved to be the death of Ruby's mother.

She grieved endlessly for a time, much as they knew she would. Disregarded the pleas from her sister and father, and eschewing the final wishes of the woman she loved. For a child that had never known sorrow, this blow was devastating, and made all the worse with the knowledge that Yang's mother was still out there, somewhere, ignoring their misfortune.

But time passed, and her tears dried up. And Ruby Rose was once again the happy girl which everyone knew.

Maybe she had finally learned a life lesson? Maybe she was still stuck in denial, talking to her mother's gravestone as if she were still alive behind those tons of dirt and stone. The townsfolk began whispering behind her back, noticing her shyness and disfunction when compared to her more mature sister.

But Ruby didn't care. She was still a happy child.

Because it was none of these things which helped move the girl out of her grief.

For although her days had always been filled with joy and laughter, her nights had always been filled with torment and strife.

For each and every night without fail, she would dream a dream, one that was impossible to separate from reality. As soon as she closed her eyes, they were open again in a new world, herself behind the looking glass but someone else at the helm. She saw through the eyes of a stranger, someone she had never met, but someone she felt like she had been born with side-by-side.

To the girl who had never known anything else, this was considered normal. After a time, she didn't even realize that she didn't control the body she inhabited because its actions mimicked her own so well. It thus became difficult separating this dream world from real.

She didn't skip a beat when the body lead her on its own adventures. Childlike wonderment taking mystical tales of ninja and sages to heart, and becoming as real as the ones about creatures of the night regaled to her by her parent's bedtime whispers.

But for all this wonderment which lay down the rabbit hole, there were also demons.

Those fables of glorious battle became the truth of murder behind those blue eyes. And the person she became struggled every step of the way, seeking their betterment through the hard way of life ascribed to them. But beyond that, beyond the daily toil to stay alive another day, she, they, yearned for simple acknowledgment.

The nighttime forays she witnessed were filled with spiteful glances and cold shoulders, ignoring her diminutive form which was drowned by the tide of humanity all around her. Food was not delivered from the steaming tray born by a loved one's hands, and came seldom, and cold. Lessons were learned not with gentle assistance, but harsh and hurtful consequences.

And beyond it all, she was alone in that world.

The life she witnessed was tough, and there was no one to care for her within the realm of dreams.

She would wake each day from the feeling of helplessness and disillusion to her happy home with her sister by her side and her canine companion at her feet, and realize just how lucky she was. But also, just how cruel the world could be.

And so Ruby Rose was a happy child, because she chose to be. Because she knew the darkness of the world firsthand, and was bound and determined to change it.

To help herself, to help the one she would become.

….

Naruto Uzumaki was a happy child.

He had been for as long as he could remember.

His days were filled with constant struggles, condemned at every turn by passers by who didn't even stop to learn his name and instead referred to him only as 'that boy', or if they thought he wasn't listening: 'the demon child'. Everyone, it seemed, wanted to extinguish that joy.

Every day he would wake up alone in an empty apartment. He had never had a roommate, even when he was in the orphanage, and he never had any visitors except for a wrinkled old man who would show up once a month to check in on him, and to encourage him to become a strong warrior.

Why, he could not understand.

Every day was a struggle simply to find the energy to survive. What spare time he stumbled upon was filled with constant and clumsy training, no one to help him distinguish right from wrong. When he hurt himself in the effort, the masked people who followed him around would not lift a finger to stem either his blood nor his tears. They never put him above the rest of their charges, and were perfectly equal in their indifference.

Every day the other village inhabitants would treat him the same, ignoring his plight and his every attempt to seek attention. He would smile at them, resort to playing pranks on people, just to stir a reaction out of them, force them to acknowledge his existence. In turn, their hateful words would be redoubled, and their rage justified as they refused him food or service.

Their insults went in one ear and out the other as he continued smiling.

He would spend years in that drudgery, in that dingy apartment at the edge of the Village slums, where he was exposed to every ounce of debauchery which took place in the dark ally ways and seedy bars. Every day would be spent in the betterment of himself, so that he might one day live to see the joy in the world.

Because the world was far from black and white, and goodness must persist somewhere.

He had seen it with his own eyes. When parents dropped their children off at the academy he saw the loving way they waved goodbye, or nodded proudly at the cheerful and innocent expressions. Naruto thought that he might finally gain recognition here, find a friend within the camaraderie bred in those venerable halls.

But he was mistaken, and his ostracizing became even worse.

Worse, because it was the children who now shunned him. People his own age who ought to understand his plea, couldn't because they had only ever seen the goodness of the world in their parents, and never wanted to let that go.

He spent many evenings alone on the swing set, gazing at the happy children with envy and wallowing in his misfortune.

But time passed, and his tears dried up, and he became the incorrigibly happy boy which everyone knew.

People wondered if he was deranged, if the demon in his gut had possessed him. People called him stupid, because they didn't think he understood the way the world worked, because he didn't understand joy he couldn't understand the concept of loss.

But he let their whispers slide off his back, and continued being happy despite it all.

Because it was none of these things which kept the boy sane and upbeat.

For although his days were nothing but living torment and exclusion, his nights were nothing but joy and companionship.

For each and every night without fail, he would dream a dream, one which was impossible to separate from reality. As soon as he closed his eyes, they were open again in a new world, himself gazing out of that fathomless pool of wonderment whilst someone else scooted him around on angel's wings. The life he inhabited on the other side of consciousness was so foreign that he could hardly understand it. And yet, he felt as if a part of him was really living in that idyllic world, so that he couldn't, or didn't want to believe it was fake.

To the boy who had never known anything else, this was considered normal. He was too busy reveling in the absolute happiness that each night brought that he couldn't bring himself to care if he was making the decisions.

Did he want to play? Of course he did! Did he want cookies? Who wouldn't! The tastes and the elation he felt were real, and that was good enough for him.

He soaked up every minute of the experience, unquestioning as to how or what it was. And petty things like gender, name, appearance, or even language never slowed him down. This was the language of love! And it was universal!

But there was also sadness, because now he could lose the things he had gained.

When his dreams became melancholy, and one of the people he knew he loved dearly went away to never return, he felt the sorrow which permeated through that trance and cried the same tears which fell from his then silver eyes.

But he was also happy, for now when he woke, he could say he understood loss and thus sympathize with the other children. And when he returned to the dream world, he realized just how lucky he was to have it.

He was not alone in that world even then, and thus felt like he was never alone ever. He knew it wasn't the same as making friends, but it kept him from succumbing to the hateful world he was born in. He would wake each day with renewed vigor, his extrovert battery recharged and his smile rested for a new day of use.

And so Uzumaki Naruto was a happy child, because he chose to be. Because he knew both joy as well as hate, and knew which one he preferred.

It gave him something to work towards, to make the world a place like the one he saw in his dreams.


	2. Misprint

**I urge my readers to read this AN, and I in turn will promise to try and keep it short.**

 **The truth is, I really had no intention of continuing this story, at least not for a long while to come. The flattery and response I have been getting from everyone has been both invigorating and ever so debilitating to me, because I would like to continue to produce such works as are up to the standards I have set, but fear I may not be able to.**

 **The uniqueness of my concept (if I dare use that term, for there are no new stories), I have elevated to an almost holy status in my mind, and I feel like anything I tack on to the end without being first divinely inspired to do so is nothing short of sacrilege.**

 **So I pose you this question, my loyal and vacillating readers: I have a couple of trial chapters to continue this story which I am not entirely satisfied with. To me, they don't quite fit in the same vein as the prologue/ once shot, and frankly don't quite live up to that standard in my opinion. But because I have been spurred to write more because of my loving audience, the decision is up to you. Do they work for you? Or would you prefer me to tumble my thoughts around a little more in my head until I produce a polished gem?**

…

 _Dear diary,_

 _Hi! How are you? My name is Ruby Rose, and I am ten years old. My dad says I should try to write to you every day, even though he wants me to try and make 'real' friends as well, which is weird because I know you are real, but he doesn't seem to think that counts. Anyway, I hope you don't mind then if I tell you a little about myself. My name is Ruby Rose, and I am ten years old… and I already said that. Today is October 31st, and it is my birthday. It's the same day as Halloween, how cool is that?! I like strawberries, puppies, spending time with my dad and my sister and the stories that he and my mom used to tell us. I don't like mean people, vegetables, and Grimm, because they took my mom away. But I guess that I don't hate them, because I don't like to hate anything. But they are why my dream is to become a strong huntress, just like my mom! I want to make the world a better place for everyone, so that one day we can all live happily ever after, just like in her stories._

….

There was that lurch in his stomach, you know the one where you feel like you're climbing a staircase and miss that final step and feel like you're going to fall forever in a pit of dizzying blackness. As he missed the next step and fell away into nothing, he went from sleeping to wide awake as he tumbled out of bed into a disorganized pile of blankets and sweat. His twig-like arms were glistening even though he was chattering with cold, and though the adrenaline coursed through his veins like a freight train, his heightened focus was directed inward to the nonexistence of his heartbeat.

He gasped a rattling breath. One, two, three… but lost count each time he wondered how he was still alive without a pulse in his chest.

But then it returned, faint and unhurried, not pumping enough blood to his swimming head, and he felt like he was going to black out again.

This time he did not dream.

….

What…was that?

He pushed himself off the wood floor, worn smooth from use and blinked in the bright light of day. It was morning, again.

He looked at his hands, and realized that those pudgy little starfish had not been the ones holding the pen. These were his hands, and the others were… what, exactly?

A ghost? A dream? His dream?

His dream was to become the Hokage, so that everyone in the village would be forced to acknowledge his existence, and he would one day have friends, and a family, and a father and a sister whom he would protect from the beasts-

No. That was not _his_ dream.

This was the first deviation. The first time he recognized a difference between the slender being of his thoughts and the robust one tied to the mundane world around him. When the pen went one way, and his heart the other.

Every time before this was like riding in a train car, surrounded by the luxurious décor and staring outwards at the scenery passing by. Suddenly it went around a curve, and he did not follow, realizing for the first time he had only ever been a ghost.

He questioned, whether that person known as _Ruby Rose_ , was in fact someone else, separate from him and his problems. Someone else who had a father and a sister and a dog and home and dreams which diverged from his own. And that this, this lonely squalor was his only reality.

He picked himself off the floor and tossed the coverlet back on his bed, uncaring how it fell crooked. He padded his way into the kitchen nook and started to boil himself some water automatically.

But it was so real.

It had always been real, this incident hadn't made it _less_ real. It just made it… different.

He clutched his heart as it skipped another beat, turned up the tiny blue flame to ward off the cold.

Separate. Apart. Alone. Those happy faces were never meant for him.

He shook his raggedy blond locks, dispelling the dream from his head. Today was his first chance to pass the Genin exam, after all. He needed to focus on the important things.

He hopped on his tippy toes and swiped a Styrofoam container from the cabinet as the kettle began to boil. Piercing whistle announcing the departure of the train from the station.

…..

He felt like he should try to make friends. He felt like he should try to make _real_ friends. Even though it was his last day in the academy, he never wanted to stop trying, a biological compulsion driving him to step up to the plate and swing at the curveball life threw at him.

He could have been like Sasuke. Could have been famous for something bad, being bad, being dark and cold and otherworldly.

But that wasn't him. He knew that much.

So when he was rebuffed yet again, he took it in stride. He didn't even remember what he said, or what they said, or even who they were. He was going through the motions because that's what it felt like he should do. Because that was who he was.

When he failed the exam again, he warded off disappointment with a wooden smile. But this time, he could not help but let some of the rain in when he shut the door to that less than perfect world.

He retreated into his comfortable cubbyhole to ward off the real pain. His dreary, cold and lonely reality. He wanted to withdrawal into that seclusion, close his eyes and wait in patience for his family to show up. And they would go outside together into the sunshine of the forest and laugh and play and get stronger and more resilient to the evil things which lurked outside that paradise.

But a thought struck him. Could he even go back, again? It was, after all, just a dream.

"Naruto?"

He lifted his head from where it rested on the rough hemp rope swing. A smiling brown pineapple eclipsed the sun.

Another dream.

"Maa, Naruto, you know you'd probably pass the exam if you studied a little harder."

"I'll try harder next time, Iruka-sensei."

The perpetual chunin frowned at the listless response. He could tell his student was elsewhere.

"I'm serious Naruto. Listen to me, you could be a great ninja if you just put a little bit more effort into your studies."

"I don't want to be a great ninja, I'm going to be the best- Dattebayo!" For a brief moment there was a spark as the unflappable brat he knew reanimated that lifeless corpse.

Iruka sighed. "And how are you going to do that if you don't pass the exit exam first?" But it was too late, and Naruto had already doubled back to seek solace in that room of painted pictures.

The instructor whistled a sigh at the rebuff but could not just let it go at that. That wasn't the type of person he was.

He crouched down on his knee and placed a gentle hand on the boy's all-too-thin shoulder. Naruto flinched and blinked, pupils dialing back into focus.

"Naruto, this is your dream, right?"

"Huh?"

"To become the Hokage, that's your dream, your goal." He gave a lopsided grin. "Or have you changed your mind in the last 30 minutes?"

"No way!" This time the pale blond was genuinely taken aback.

"You see those men?" He pointed to the four faces set in stone which overlooked the whole village. Idyllic statues that were more than reality, less than truth. "Do you think they got to where they were by just talking about being the best?"

"No." Naruto looked down, wishing he could walk away into that dark room and wait for the light to come back.

"No." Iruka frowned, still trying to get the boy to look him in the eye. He gave him a little shake and the clouds lifted from the azure skies staring back at him. "They worked hard for it. They kept their focus on their goals, but also on their fellow ninja as well as each and every villager who they considered family."

Naruto looked troubled. He had heard this speech before, but now he knew what family really meant.

"If they're supposed to be my family," Iruka caught his tongue as the boy spoke. "if they're all supposed to be family, why do they always treat me so bad?"

The older man bit his tongue. He had expected obstinance, a resentful acknowledgment that he needed to work harder. He should have expected this question but knew that he didn't want to ask it himself, either. But he quickly found his stride again.

"Well, families… not all families get along. Not everyone understands what it means to be part of a family."

"What it means?"

"Yeah, like, they expect that their family should love them unconditionally, no matter what they do."

Naruto was confused, as everything he had grown up knowing about family seemed so perfect and complete. It came so effortlessly and free, and if you didn't have to begin with you never would. But…then again… wasn't that all just a lie…?

"But the truth is that no love is unconditional. Love is both ways, and love requires work. And you can't just expect someone to give you love for free."

"Then why should I-"

"Because they are still part of your family, even if they don't know it. You shouldn't stop trying to care for them, and one day, they will finally return that affection." Iruka smiled sadly. "But there will be some who won't see it that way, and you have to prepare yourself for the fact that there are some battles you just can't win. But you never stop fighting, never give up."

He placed both hands on the young man's shoulders and looked into his fathomless blue eyes, wide with both fear and understanding. A child's eyes which bore a whole new world beyond their horizons.

"But you will win more than you will lose- that I promise you. Because people will always choose love over hate. And so should you. Choose victory over defeat. Choose happiness over despair. You just have to keep working at it, chipping away at everything just like the rock for the face you want up there."

Naruto thought about a raven-haired woman, a raven-haired boy. One who was so far away and yet still family, one who was so close to kin but so far away. He thought on all the bitter and hurt feelings surrounding these two individuals- or where they one and the same? Either way, was that not a wasted love, the years spent pining after a bond which might never be forged?

Iruka didn't seem to think so, and he had never steered him wrong before. For the first time, though, it felt like he could really see it and understand it. Believe it.

"So, do you know what you should do now?"

"Huh? Umm…"

He thought about it. He really did, he realized, instead of just screwing up his face and looking like he was in order to satisfy the scar-faced man.

"Naruto," He resisted the urge to sigh, aware of the potentially fundamental moment he was having with the impressionable youth. "you need to focus on the here and now."

"Oh, right." His face heated up with a dusting of pink which reminded him of cotton candy. "I need to keep working, to keep trying to get better and to be better." He looked up at the stone faces, suddenly aware of their permanence. "I can't stop because it _is_ worth it. Because this is my world, my home, and someday they will be my people…" His heart grew wings and sailed upward on a thermal. "…Because I can't give up. Because I'm going to be Hokage!

…..

Ruby blinked the pixie dust from her eyes as the excess floated lazily in the beam of warm sunlight tumbling through her bedroom window.

She flopped back onto her pillow with a groan, realizing that it was a school day, and she had another test. And not just any test. But **the** test which would determine if she was fit for the huntsman fast track, or if she would spend another two and half years studying science and grammar and other boring stuff.

She had failed the practice test her dad had given her two weeks before. She had studied religiously since then, of course… hadn't she?

The half groan, half whimper was muffled by her heavily feathered pillow as she rolled over and buried her face in it. Suddenly her whole day just felt so insurmountable, just hanging up on that one thought which loomed like a big, stony bust of her father glaring down with disappointment.

"Hey Ruby! It's time to get up!" The voice of her sister was a chipper and bright as the larks singing outside her window, and she wanted to chuck the pillow at both of them. "Today's the day my little sister gets to become a huntress!"

Ruby wanted to point out that this was just the first of many, many steps to achieving their parallel goals. And she wanted to complain and bemoan her unpreparedness to wrench free some pity from her sister.

But she didn't.

There would be other chances, she knew. And this test wasn't the be all, end all. Her family would still love her at the end of the day and her self confidence would recover in time should the worst come to pass.

But that consoling thought wasn't what made her wrench herself out of bed.

It was something she couldn't quantify. A confidence, a surety that she hadn't felt when she closed her eyes the previous night. The feeling was so unshakable and so real that she couldn't help but let it spread through her body like caffeine and perk her up out of her fatigued lamentations.

Not that she would succeed, but that she would try.

It came to her that she wouldn't know the results, good or bad, unless she took it. And she couldn't do that if she hadn't even gotten out of bed. Her foot peaked out from underneath the covers and onto the chilly early morning floor.

Then Yang ripped off the covers and ran away giggling maniacally, with a crimson streak hot on her pigtails.

The story hadn't been written yet. It hadn't even begun.


	3. Table of Contents

"A-aga-again…"

An eyebrow raised over the lip of the bottle he was about to take a swig from.

"Umm…what?"

"Please…Uncl-Proffesor Qrow." She stumbled on, thankful that her slip could be blamed on her panting stream of words, and glad that her sweat-drenched hair hung down in front of her flushed face. "I want to try again."

"Uh, you do know that this is a test, right?" He asked with his usual lackadaisical manner, trying not to sound impressed that his niece still had the strength to get up. "And you already passed." Barely, but he didn't want to mention that fact.

Her breath hitched as she questioned her resolve for that fleeting moment.

"I-I don't care." She shook her head, going a bit dizzy and wondering just how many Uncles she had with a drinking habit as the three brothers stared back at her with identical flasks and identically quizzical expressions. "I know- I know I can do better."

Qrow shrugged. They never offered make-up exams, but it wouldn't hurt her to try again. Either way they were just gauging her skills, and the more data the better.

But that wobble in his niece's legs told him that she was pushing herself far past what was probably good for a ten-year-old. He admired her dedication, but he didn't want her to hurt herself.

"Alright, why not."

His latent half which held all of his prudence winced, ruing the decision to let a man with such self-destructive tendencies take charge. He held up the wooden training sword with an almost limp arm as his other hand fed him a swig of his hip-flask. Of course he was instructed not to drink in front of the kiddies, but chances are he wouldn't see half of them again, so their parents wouldn't complain. And if they did, well, they'd have six years to get used to his habits.

"Whenever you're-"

"Hyaaa!"

He resisted rolling his eyes as the girl stumbled forward, swinging wildly with the toothpick-sized blade. She was even worse than she was the first time around, but of course that was to be expected given how thoroughly he whipped her the first time.

He believed in tough love.

As evidently did his niece, as she tried and failed another half-dozen times to hit him with strikes that wouldn't have bunted a t-ball. In other words, with all the strength in her wet-noodle arms.

Trying not to be disappointed, he considered dragging the 'match' out for another few seconds. But even that was too painful for him, and he shot a sidelong gaze at the other dozens of student hopefuls still waiting their turn. Another few seconds wouldn't make a difference more or less, but he was still not going to finish before happy hour.

'Better luck next year.' At least her sister still showed great potential. Worrying, too considering who her mother was. Maybe it was better if Ruby just took the slow route and stayed a kid just a little bit longer.

Longer than the time it would take him to finish the match, which was over as soon as he flicked his wrist and sent her sword flying. Without the weight as counterbalance, she would hopefully just fall over on the ground, her limitless energy for once, expended.

And just like that, it was over.

It had been so fast that he must have blinked and missed it.

He tripped back a half-step as a cannonball hit him in the stomach. The wind left his lungs and his own prop weapon clattered to the ground. He wheezed a cough but caught himself and the projectile before they both slid to the hard, non-slip floor mat.

"-The hell?"

The gymnasium rang quiet as students and teachers alike tried to figure out the same. He looked down in the direction of his bruised torso to find a red paint-splattered mop of hair buried there. His niece snoring softly and drooling into his crumpled white shirt.

A few rose petals drifted down like dust in the afternoon sunlight streaming in through the window.

"Huh. How 'bout that?"

…

 _Fast_

That was the mantra which followed him throughout the day. When he ran his laps, he buckled down and pushed. When he practiced the handseals, he vowed to beat himself every iteration. And when he went through his taijutsu katas, he could only hope to emulate the chunin instructors who made it look like breathing.

He was just never fast enough. Never as fast as he should be.

Never as fast as_

He cut that thought off as he collapsed on his back after tripping in his last stance. It wasn't right to compare himself to_ but he couldn't help it. Couldn't even say the name, because knew that when he did it would lose all the magic it held which spurred him forward.

At the moment, he was still just trying to beat himself.

…

 _Why am I so weak?_

Ruby looked out her bedroom window, past the entrance to her cave of blankets piled over her. She hadn't moved since waking up the day after the exams, and though her sister and father came to check up on her a few times, she just made believe she was still sleeping.

Because in her sleep she was strong.

In her sleep she could run around whole cities, she could leap through the trees like a monkey and get beaten and stand back up again afterwards.

But she was fast- or at least that's what her father claimed. She barely remembered him coming in and praising her for a good showing on the exam, relating what a good impression her uncle had and just how important that was to her career, her dream.

-The waking kind, that is.

It was just hard to believe. His words were a far-off radio program, filled with static. And her actions that day a mere picture-book, or maybe one of the stories her mom used to tell her.

She hadn't been strong enough then, either.

Or had she?

She remembered standing up against the cold stares, the hungry circling of beasts disguised as men. And she remembered being alone against the world.

Only… she wasn't alone. Her sister and her father were waiting for her. Looking back at her, waiting for her to catch up. Forging ahead so that they could be there when she stumbled, like she did the day before.

She would become strong, for them.

…

"Again." The words were clear this time.

"Hey, someone woke up on the right side of the bed this morning." The boxer gave a feral smirk as she tightened the tape on her wrists, happy to oblige. She was having more fun that she could ever remember!

"More like waking up on the right side of the bed this whole week." Taiyang mumbled to himself, watching his daughters reset themselves to duke it out yet again.

Or rather, he was watching Yang once again mop the floor with her baby sister, while said youngest merely gritted her teeth and picked herself up after the beating with an almost machoistic tendency.

If she hadn't started to dodge some of the blonde's strikes during the third round, he was seriously considering taking her to a psychologist.

He was **still** considering taking her to a psyche, if only because of the manic behavior she'd been exhibiting since her mother died.

She had cried, like any other normal girl her age. Taiyang didn't believe on a standard period for grieving and was more than willing to let his daughters work it out on their own until he decided it became unhealthy. Yang had gotten over it first, as he expected her to. Especially after telling her about her mother, and unwittingly (or otherwise) giving her an outlet to channel her dormant anger.

But then Ruby had a few days later. And though he should have been glad to see his daughter in such an improved disposition, he feared for her mental state given just how completely and totally she had turned around, with seemingly no rhyme or reason nor even a backwards glance. There was not even a molecule of hate within that angelic disposition, and he was forces to assume she was bottling up her sorrows.

While it was true everyone had their own ways of coping, repression wasn't a healthy one. And he was fairly certain that's what Ruby was doing. She had always been naturally shy, even before it all had gone down. But now, she seemed even less intent on making friends, and what was more troubling recently, completely focused on becoming a huntress.

It had been she who had asked to spar with Yang, and not the other way around. Previously, the activity had always been the biggest wedge between the two inseparable sisters, with Ruby having to be bribed or blackmailed into participation. He was worried she was transmuting her sorrow to anger, and expressing it in unhealthy ways.

As he saw the glint in her eyes as she charged her sister yet again, this pang of anxiety came back to pluck at his heartstrings. Though she was doubtlessly improving in the weeks since scraping by the fast-track exam, he was still troubled about what was behind all this.

He considered calling the two of them back in when he saw the scrawny girl end up in another heap on the trompled grass. But relaxed when he saw the lopsided smile she gave her older sister as she helped lift her dead weight off the ground. Lopsided, if only because one of her cheeks was beginning to swell up.

Taiyand sighed as he put the last of the cleaned dishes away in the cabinet and leaned his elbows on the window sill, staring out the uneven leaden glass. There was no doubt he would have to teach the both of them about how to use their Aura soon, and not for the first time he lamented his little darlings growing up so fast.

But as he watched them lazily carouse in their post-exercise drunkenness, giggling like the two little maniacs they were, he felt that age-old contentment settle into his chest now as it had the first time he looked upon the tiny, swaddled form gazing up at him from his trembling arms.

The summer breeze wafted in through the cracked window, dry pine needles, sap and dust, and the gentle clacking of wood against wood filled the rustic kitchen.

Maybe everything would still turn out alright.

…..

There was no way that things would be alright.

His half-lidded eye twitched as he refuted the words shouted at him by his brother-in-law as he cheekily waved him off this morning.

Qrow may have been lazy, but the first thing he was doing when the day was out would be finding an apartment far away from that cabin the woods. There was no way he could stand that odiously cheery attitude for an entire year, let alone six if the fine print in his contract was to be believed.

And did he mention he was lazy? How was he supposed to fulfill this self-appointed prophecy if he had to teach this classroom full of hyper brats six days a week? It didn't seem possible, especially not with the sugar-snorting chipmunk currently bouncing up and down in her seat in the middle of the jam-packed classroom, staring at him with bulging eyes and barely restrained propriety.

"Uncle Qrow!" She whispered (Shouted) at him, biting down on her bottom lip as a prevention to further outbursts.

…yeah, there was no way he was getting out of this alive.

….

"…Alright, and just as a quick test to make sure today's lesson didn't go in one ear and out the other, can anyone tell me the five basic elemental natures of chakra?"

Nobody openly volunteered by the time he turned around, so Iruka was compelled to pick a volunteer. His eyes glossed over his top picks, wondering which look held the most nervousness behind the air of nonchalance honed over several semesters. He is mind settled on his adoptive little brother before his eyes did, and he wondered if it was harsh or caring to be picking on the boy like this.

But then he met the eyes staring back down at him unflinchingly. Those eyes, which were normally open windows for him to read the inner turmoil his lessons instilled, were calm as the koi pond in the Hyuuga compound.

"How about you, Naruto?"

The blond blinked his surprise and Iruka momentarily cursed his first impulse. He hadn't wanted to dismantle the boy's ego so soon after failing his exam.

"Oh, um, that'd be fire, water, wind, earth and lightening, right?"

"Um-m, yeah. Very good." He tried to steady himself and not debate on which was more shocking, the attentiveness Naruto was giving him or the fact that he'd gotten the answer right. "Don't suppose you could tell me what some of the hybrid forms are which can be produced by Kekkei Genkai?" Damnit, he wanted to go easy on the lad, but now he was just sounding like a nervous greenhorn, wavering and irresolute.

He scratched his whiskered cheek and looked up at the ceiling with a frown.

"Well…I kinda forget what those Kekki things are. But With wind and water you can get ice, I suppose. Fire and earth mm…. maybe lava?"

"Great. That's enough Naruto. Well done." Iruka swore the room got a little brighter as that glow propagated out from his chair.

But he pulled himself together and was back on track with the lesson. Though happy that he'd cut the boy short before either of them embarrassed themselves, he chided himself for being so feckless and losing his cool.

And though he wanted to forget about it all and keep on keeping on with the daily drudgery, he couldn't help but steal a few glances back at the middle row, each time catching Naruto's propped up head following his scribbles with muted diligence.

Without a doubt it was strange, and unaccustomed of the boy, but it wasn't like he was bouncing out of his seat in excitement for a remedial lesson. Sure, it wasn't all that challenging a question, but it definitely signaled a turning point in the boy's academic career. Maybe his talk had finally gotten through to whatever chamber Naruto retreated to in his mind. Even if it wasn't his little tête-à-tête which precipitated this change, it was still very welcome, and very much overdue.

For a dedicated teacher, it was like a dream come true.

…..

 **So there. That's what I got so far, and honestly have no idea where I'm taking it.**

 **I CAN tell you this: If… and that's a double big IF I decided to keep plugging away at this, I am confident that it's not going to be a Naruto x Ruby pairing.**

 **WHATTHEMOTERFUCKINGBLARGBLARGHGUHAWHWHWHWA?!**

 **Yeah. Pretty much decided on this. Why? Think about it: you spend your whole life living in parallel with someone who is in almost every way like you, seeing everything they do and them seeing everything YOU do (yeah, including all that less than beautiful things we humans do). Even if it weren't for those mundane bodily functions, the fact remains that mentally it'd be hard to separate one for the other, and even if you did it would be more akin to a sibling relationship than anything else. And yeah, I know there are those of you out there who like that sort of 'taboo' subject, but that isn't where I wanted to go with this. Same reasoning for why this wouldn't be a Naruto x Yang pairing.**

 **But I admit, with this sort of thing would lead to a very difficult and touchy subject. Obviously neither of them would be growing up with any sort of 'Normal' sense of relations, and the boundaries illustrated with different types of love would certainly be blurred, but for the sake of my sanity I would be glossing over some of those issues.**

 **That being said, I like exploring the different paths of love, and am open to just about everything else. Yeah, I'd even be willing to give a shot to non-cis parings (or whatever your favorite terminology is, yaoi/yuri, slash, loli, shota, whatever, y'all are still as disgusting as everyone else). Not my preference, but I can't deny it, just know that it isn't my forte (well, neither are real romances in general as I am a hopeless case in real life).**

 **Also, kind of have to if you think about it. Again, blurred lines between self, blurred gender etc.**

 **But again, all this is just speculation. Can't say either if there is a "threshold" to how many reviews I need to continue, just that the more there are, the more likely I am to be inspired again.**

 **Anyway, made enough of a fool out of myself for now, so I'm going to go nap until I have to get back to my 12 hours of classes.**

 **~Ciao**


	4. Letter to the Editor

**Well, here it is. At last.**

 **Yeah, I decided I needed to continue this, if only because I am a shameless attention hog. You have no one to blame but yourselves~**

 **But to be honest, it was a struggle. Many of you noticed and commented how the previous two chapters deviated from the prologue significantly. And for those of you who don't know me, this is much more in line with my standard writing style, though I have really, really tried to turn down the vocabulary on this one.**

 **I had wanted to make it more simplistic, more fairytale-esque in its layout. But it was obvious early on that this is not sustainable. Not if I want to delve more into the character interactions and play-by-play action, which I know a few of you are aching for me to do. So I hope I am getting closer to finding a happy balance somewhere along the lines. Maybe do several interludes which give you an overview like they have Salem do in RWBY. Your feedback is immensely useful in this regard.**

 **I know some of you too don't want me to overanalyze the implications of the premise I have set down. I.e. tone down the brainy shit and just write some more fluffy goodness. I know, I know, I am trying. I really had wanted to keep this one PG friendly and not delve into weird, dark shi-stuff (see! It's not that easy!). But this is actually a lot harder for me to do than one might think, and also why I am updating my Kill la Kill crossover more than twice as much.**

 **However, I will continue to fight against my better nature for you, my cute little readers. But if I get a brain hemorrhage, my next of kin will know who to blame.**

 **See you on the other side.**

* * *

The days continued to pass, as such, for the intrepid souls.

To simply say this, however, wouldn't be enough. Each day for them was the same, in that it was an entirely new experience from the one before. Each singular event created ripples which meshed one with the other, and which they rode to even greater heights down the river of life. The vector of their futures was changing so rapidly, so drastically, that to gloss over this time of progress would be a sin.

But, equally, to describe the day to day became such a complex task that it is impossible for anyone to say exactly what it all meant to two so juvenile beings. The only ones who would ever know the exact story were Ruby and Naruto themselves. And even they could not keep track of all the nuanced details, when compared to the wonderous whole that was their shared experience.

Each moment was seen and experienced through the other's eyes, so that by the time thirteen years had passed, either had lived more than most could boast for entire lifetimes. It was not merely that twelve hours in and twelve hours out made a day twice as long, but that continuous awareness made them into something more than the early teenagers they were on the outside.

And, in truth, perhaps something less.

Naruto continued to hold on to that niggling doubt which stopped his heart cold two waking years ago. He tried to move past it, tried to forget it. But the fear of forgetting it was the fear of breaking the spell which kept him bound to Ruby Rose. Neither could he confront it, and the fear constantly hovered in the peripheries of his mind like the floaters in the corner of the eyes.

Look at it, and it is gone.

And this single worry shaped him unlike anything else. It would be more influential than the envious drive which pushed him to be faster like the person in his dreams. More than the covetous jealousy which had him try and fail countless more times to make friends like the ones who surrounded _her_. And more than the unshakeable happiness and faith in humanity which told him it was all worth it.

So he would keep on getting stronger, _faster_ and even more uncompromising in his lofty aspirations. Pushing himself to a blur, so that he couldn't focus on that toxic doubt.

Ruby, on the other hand, was oblivious to this burden of knowledge for a long time. She continued to bask in the sun shining on her garden of Eden, choosing faith over that burdensome truth.

She merely accepted the life she had been given. Embraced it. And it is difficult to say which was the better path, and which was worse.

She felt none of the malignant suspicion which came with knowing. This left her listless, unambitious. Not to say that she did not make progress towards her dream. Indeed, she excelled leaps and bounds past what everyone had expected of her. Words like 'genius' and 'prodigy' were tossed around over her head, while she continued to frolic ignorantly.

The words 'oblivious' and 'ignorant' here are not to say that she was stupid by any stretch of the imagination. She simply failed to see, or perhaps did not want to see the difference between her and everyone else. She failed to fall in step with the people around her: Her teachers who praised her resilience and wit but decried her aloofness. Her father, who worried about how she seemed to continually slip away from him and reality.

She had her family, those who cared about her and who would help her when she stumbled. Why should she care about making new friends? She already had everyone she could ever need. The ones she could count on to prop her up when she stumbled, and those who would keep her moving on the path forward.

She would keep on pressing that path to betterment, and in turn, one day she would come back around and prod the next lost traveler forward.

And beyond that, there was the one she could always count on.

Herself.

That 'other' self which was as much a part of her as her hands. She knew it was there, counted on it being there whenever she closed her eyes so that she need not fear the things which lurked in the night. Her life was nonstop sunshine even when it wasn't, and she had no reason to care where it came from.

She was not unaware of the hate directed towards her when she wandered those parallel streets. She was not unknowledgeable of her duty in that mirror life, in which she would not be hunting the two-dimensional creatures of Grimm, but other, living, breathing, human beings. Other people with lives just like hers.

She just didn't care.

Because she could always count on that escape to be there. For whenever she was there, she was strong, and she never had the desire to give up.

So she kept on getting stronger, and yes, even faster. She kept on improving herself, comparing progress to her doppelganger and copying the lessons that he learned. She continued to feed off the other, uncaring of who came first. Pushing herself to exhaustion, so she could close her eyes and do it all again.

There was comfort in knowing what to expect.

* * *

He'd never expected it would be this difficult.

It was almost a physical effort to hold pencil over paper. Sweat dribbling down his forehead and onto the page, not moving other than to bat away a fly attracted by the salty liquid. These were the hardest sentences he'd ever have to write, including his abysmally boring history homework.

But why was he having such difficulty? He had thought about the words he should write for the better part of two years now, but had intentionally postponed them every time for one reason or another. And now, he had run out of spare time.

Tomorrow were the Genin exams, and unlike the previous two years it honestly looked like he had a shot at passing. But for what should have been a joyous occasion, he was experiencing as much anxiety as one would expect in a life-or-death scenario. That was because, to him, it was a matter of life or death.

For what should happen if he should die in the line of duty? It was something he could answer with a fake bravado, stating that he couldn't die because he had yet to become Hokage. And yet, he could lie to strangers, he could even lie to himself.

But he couldn't lie to her.

Because as far as he could see, she was perfect. She was innocent. She was loved. She was everything that he was not and yet the very best of the qualities he knew in himself. He just couldn't bring himself to ruin her. He did not know when exactly he had delineated the two of them in his mind as two completely separate beings. For as long as he could remember she had been him, and he her.

But then things had changed, and the first tear in the fabric began. He hesitated now because he knew that if he penned those lines there was no taking them back, no mending that cover.

What would happen was anyone's guess. This bond, he knew, was not normal. **He** was not normal. He had known that fact for almost all his life as well, and yet had only recently questioned the strangeness of his dreams. Did they exist to balance out his otherwise terrible life? Did he deserve them?

Did he deserve her, and that escape she unwittingly provided him?

It had been a long time pondering these questions. The answer had been a long time coming.

And now, here it was at last.

The stone placed in the river's fork with the engraving:

 _Dear Ruby Rose…_

 _Dear Ruby Rose…_

She couldn't remember anything else past that. Nothing else really even mattered anyway, because with those three words her world had been turned upside down.

"Miss Rose?"

"Huh?"

The record needle skipped its track and her real life came back into focus.

Real life, huh?

"Are you feeling alright?" Tortoiseshell eyes stared down at her concernedly. "Perhaps you would like to go see the nurse?"

"No, I'm fine, Mr. McGregor." She shook her scattered brain under the scrutiny of her homeroom teacher who pursed his thin lips in disbelief. "Really."

"I'm concerned that you might be pushing yourself too hard." He traded the papers from one arm to the other and sat down at the desk next to her, against her mental protests. "It's not healthy for a young girl to be working herself this much, you know? There's no shame in taking a break, you'd still be ahead a year if you decided you want to take a sabbatical."

"No!" She immediately regretted the outburst as the wide eyes of every student in the room turned to her. "I mean… no, I-I'm okay. I don't want to drop out."

Her life had already been altered, and she doubted if she could take another upset.

With furrowed eyebrows and contorted mouth, the young teacher stared at her, latching on to that absolute turn of phrase. "It's not really dropping out, you know…" He tried to protest this dour outlook.

But with his inexperience, he had no other words of wisdom to bestow upon her, but did have another thirty students waiting on him to recommence their lesson. "Just… please let me know if you do have an issue, won't you?"

Ruby nodded curtly, and despite his better judgment the inexperienced young man trusted her and moved on with his curriculum, standing up and continuing on down the crowded rows of desks and restless teens.

When he left her alone, she turned back to the scoured wooden surface of the desk, everything else around her once again being shoved to the side. And, like usual, everyone ignored the strange and self-contained girl who skipped several grades to be in their sophomore year at Signal Academy.

Meanwhile, the concerned bystander approached the front of the room again. He ran one hand through his tabby-colored hair, turned around and shot another furtive glance her way. He was no psychologist. He taught history, and this was once situation he had never encountered in textbooks. But he did know when he was out of his depth, and so vowed to do the commendable thing and seek someone out who might have a better idea of what was going on through her head.

With that reassurance in mind, he picked up where he had left off in his lesson.

With the tip of her pale and calloused finger, she traced the patchwork carvings on her tabletop, finding the freshest one and rubbing it back and forth, over and over again, so that the familiar cursive would be forever carved in her mind as it was on the ancient surface.

 _Ruby Rose_

"That's me, huh?"

* * *

Her father had been waiting for her when she got home, which was not unusual. And as much as she'd like to deny it, neither was the contemplative and troubled expression on his face. For a long time now, he had seemed to be carrying an invisible burden, one which was slumping his shoulders, slowly eating away at his youthful face and even graying his wheat-blond hair.

Huh, she'd never thought about it before, but it was a similar shade to her- _their_ hair color, wasn't it?

"Hi Dad!" She greeted cheerily, trying to assuage both her father and herself.

It didn't work.

"Ruby," He didn't even try faking a smile for her this time, and she immediately knew something had changed.

"What's wrong, Dad?"

He heaved a heavy sigh, and with a tinkling of ice cubes, slid the short glass that she'd just now noticed farther away from himself.

Taiyang could not be classified as a heavy, or even an occasional drinker. The indulgence reserved for festivities only, and only in moderation. The days of binging with his school buddies had long since passed, and the only legacy he held on to of that time was his ghoulish brother-in-law who drank enough for his entire family. But today, he felt he needed something before the discussion which had been a long time coming.

"That's what I'd like to know, Pumpkin." She didn't need to be told and had already sat down opposite him at the kitchen table. She eyed the glass warily, and he gave a wry grin to acknowledge his own failings.

"I'd like to think," His voice was a high-pitched whine, and he coughed once to clear his throat. "I'd like to think that you'd tell me if something was the matter."

"Of course I would." She answered automatically, defensively.

Too fast, if the deepening lines on her father's face were anything to go by.

"The how come I got a call from your teacher this afternoon?"

Fear and panic started to overtake her, and she struggled to think of anything she had done wrong. Though the very though was impossible, not only because she'd never done anything to disobey the rules, but because her mind had been entirely occupied from the moment she'd woken up at 1:00AM in the morning and been unable to fall back asleep.

"I don't know."

"He said that you were zoning out in class, and that you didn't respond when he first called on you."

She flinched as she faced the accusations. He hadn't even needed to specify which teacher had given him the tip, for only one had even bothered to speak to her that day. All the rest stuck to their usual routine of ignoring her, knowing that she was already more than capable of answering any of their questions.

"I'm sorry." She was, but didn't exactly know what for.

"Oh, my little girl, there's no reason to be sorry." The hand which had moved the glass crossed the table to rest on hers, and she tried to muster a smile for the man. "I just want to make sure that everything is alright. You two girls are the most important thing in my life, and if there's something that's bothering you, there's nothing I'd want to do more than to be able to help you."

She returned his imploring look with a conciliatory smile.

"-Unless it's about a boy, that is. In which case I'm not going to show him any mercy."

"Dad!"

Ruby groaned and her father managed a small smile, happy to be able to stir a normal reaction out of his daughter.

"I'm serious you know. You're too young to be dating and falling in love." This follow-on replaced her pained embarrassment with throbbing question at the forefront of her mind.

"Too young? But, I love you and Yang…" To which her father just chuckled.

"That's a different kind of love, Sweetie." But his assurance failed to relieve her aching contemplation, and he just smiled ruefully. "You'll learn when you're older."

Unperturbed, Ruby shook her head to rid her mind of that extraneous sidebar.

"No, Dad, it's not a boy."

He looked a good deal relieved at this, though she only realized after the words left her mouth that it actually _was_ about a boy. She'd just never thought of it that way.

"Then what's the matter? Is school too hard? Is there someone there who's bullying you?" He renewed his efforts to suss out the apparent problem.

"No," She shook her head at every one of his guesses. "school's fine and no one has made fun of me since last year."

That had been the first and the last time someone had decided to pick on her. She didn't even hold it against him, because the boy must have been brain dead seeing as her sister made it abundantly obvious that she would demolish anyone who pestered her younger sibling. She didn't even remember what he'd said to her, as she ignored most everything anyone said. But when he'd stolen her pudding cup at lunch hour- well, she'd firmly solidified her right to be moved ahead two years with that stunt.

That had been another serious talk with her father, although that time she was fairly certain he was secretly proud of her. Later that night they had sundaes, and Taiyang swore up and down it was just because they'd go to waste otherwise.

"Well, what about your friends?" The question roused her from her jaunt down memory lane.

"What do you mean? Yang's fine." The worried look returned.

"I mean your _other_ friends."

"But I don't have any other friends."

She had tried at first, but after so many rejections with the older students finding her weird or childish, she'd just given up and pressed on with her studies and had convinced herself that she had done her best.

But now that she thought about it, how many people had she actually propositioned, and how many had been her other? How many rejections had she personally suffered, and how many had she merely witnessed? It was not so easy to retrace that blurred line, and she did not want to confront that disturbing realization just yet.

"-But I got you, Yang and Zwei, and soon I'll have _Crescent Rose_ , I don't really need anyone else!" She tacked on cheerily.

But in spite of her upbeat attitude, Taiyang looked like he'd been stabbed in the heart, and even she was beginning to realize that perhaps this wasn't truly how she felt.

"You need friends, Ruby." She cringed at the imploring tone in her father's voice. "You may not think so now, but someday… someday we might not all be able to be with you. Yang has friends of her own, and I'm not going to be around forever…" He trailed off, but needn't have actually said the words anyway.

 _Like mom._

She wanted to clamp her hands over her ears and curl into a ball to shield herself from the outside world which was changing too rapidly for her to bear. Her dreams had been her constant, her refuge when things became insurmountable. Like another videogame avatar with a different skillset to conquer problems, she thought that she'd always have the other persona in her arsenal. But now, that truth was in question, and so was everything else.

To her own surprise and credit, she did not collapse at the kitchen table in front of her father. Although that had in part something to do with the fact that he'd already left his own chair and circled around to kneel by her and smother her in a bear hug. She didn't even notice that her tears had begun to soak his linen shirt.

"Shh, shh" he cooed, which she thought was silly, because she didn't even realize she was crying. "Oh my little flower. Everything is going to be alright, I promise. Whatever it is, you have my word that we'll help you get over it as a family. Don't despair, we'll help you find some friends that you can rely on." His words were daybreak on her tumultuous thoughts, and helped to pacify the raging storm in her mind.

"Just try to remember, Ruby," she let out a wet giggle as his whispers tickled her ear. "Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet. And family are are the best of friends, ones you can trust with your life." He rubbed her back slowly, massaging the words into her mind.

"You gunna be alright?" He pulled back to look at her and so she could wipe her eyes. He didn't even mention the fact that she'd already blown her nose on his shirt.

"Yeah," She sniffled and nodded, looking up at him with her adamantine silver eyes, glistening with fresh tears. "Yeah, I think I am."

"Good." He patted her once more on the back and stood up. "Now, do you think you could pop some popcorn? I asked Yang to wait in the parlor and I thought we'd have a late movie-night. It'd be awesome if you'd join us."

Ruby smiled at the prospect, keeping in the back of her mind the knowledge that she wouldn't always have this opportunity.

Her life was changing, that was for sure. And though she'd never be able to go back, there was that same, strange but definite feeling which assured that marvelous and exciting things awaited her- awaited _them_ in the near future.

"Sure, I'd love to."

"Okay! Just let me go change my shirt…"


	5. Three Simple Words

**Yay! Another chapter! And this one came faster than the others, amazingly.**

 **And another day, another rant, and this one has been a long time coming, so thank you** **KilluaGodspeed!** **(P.S. not trying to single you out, and this doesn't really apply to you, but this has been something that I've continually struggled with my entire writing career).**

 **And when I say my ENTIRE writing career, I do mean the whole shebang. My teachers in MIDDLE SCHOOL criticized me for being too superfluous. As you can see, not much has changed.**

 **While I agree with their humble assessment (some not so humble, and we shall not name names here, but kids, not all teachers know what they are talking about FYI), as there is a threshold in writing when too many words make something unclear, I feel that I have far undershot that value with this story. Am I guilty of it other places? Yes. Am I to be condemned for my excess verbiage? Not necessarily.**

 **I just happen to write like this. Words come to mind when I am writing which I DON'T use in every day conversation, but which describe the connotation or denotation I want to invoke for that particular scene. And no, the use of those two is not tautologous (although using tautologous might be).**

 **I will say this as many times as necessary, English has THE MOST words out of any other language. Period. Why? Because we find it USEFUL to have words to describe every conceivable scenario (except for the degrees of hate, see German for that useful vocab, although we are rapidly annexing their words for other uses).**

 **Let's have an example. Our word for raisins comes from the French word for grape: raisin. See a similarity? When the French want to say 'raisin' they say 'raisin-sec', or dried grape. Now, the next time you ask for an oatmeal-raisin cookie, try asking for an oatmeal dry-grape cookie instead, and see how** _ **that**_ **tastes on your tongue. Don't like raisins? Well I don't want to hang out with you anyway.**

 **But this is just one example of the uses we have for our words. We take other languages words and apply them to specific concepts or things we didn't otherwise have a word for. And the thing is, even though some of these words may seem to mean the same thing, even if they are so close the difference is often irrelevant, the fact is that someone thought they'd be useful for us, and the only one's we're hurting by not utilizing them is ourselves.**

 **So can we use too many of these words in inappropriate situations? Hell yeah. That's what I'm trying NOT to do with this story. But the next time you stop and ask yourself: is there a better term for this? Is there a way to say three or five words with just one? The answer is probably yes if you are speaking English. Can't help you others out there.**

 **On the other hand, we can rant and rave all we want and people will still miss the point. Language is imperfect, and so are we. Things get lost in translation and even in the air gap between two people in conversation. I'm not going to apologize for the rant because you can skip it if you want, but I do want to make it clear that I am not angry or condemning of anyone in particular, just perhaps the whole culture which has forgotten the power of one of its most fundamental rights.**

 **Okay. I'm done. I will say sorry for the AN taking up almost as much as the chapter, though. Mia Culpa.**

* * *

And with those three innocuous words, the course of this story would be diverted.

It is not for this one to say what would have happened had Naruto not eked out that first line. Whether it would have made a difference if he consciously chose to write in his scrawled katakana instead of his marginally better romaji, or if he decided to put it off another day, another week, a year. One might wonder if it was an inevitability that the two would become aware of the other's presence, and like any childhood innocence that period of sheltered existence was predestined to end.

Regardless, this is the story they chose, and the only one worth telling.

However, this fact which you and I know did not stop either of them from wondering the same myriad of possibilities.

Naruto would spend the entire week afterwards debating the foolishness of his choice. Though he still could count on those out of body experiences, he could only see and feel and was thus left to guess at her state of mind. This only served to increase the discrepancy between the two, as he now watched passively as she carried on with her daily life without the false notion that he had any control over events. Gone were the days of his refuge from reality, and sleep only brought more disturbance and anxiety.

Had she even seen his message? **Could** she even see the message? Did she see and feel through their bond or was it only one way?

Or worse, what if it was all really was just a dream? Something concocted by his compromised mind to give him solace in his miserable life.

But no matter how many times he suggested that possibility to himself, he couldn't be brought to truly believe it. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that she was an entirely different person and to suggest otherwise was to diminish her existence. However, he was brought again to face his guilt that he had taken something precious from her and could only hope that she wasn't weighed down by his guilt as well.

And as he struggled over the loss of control in this mirrored life, so too did he loose control of what was happening around him.

He had managed to scrape past the Genin Exam by the skin of his teeth, but now gave little care to much else, not even noticing the strangeness of the exuberant man before him nor the oddness of said man explaining why he **wouldn't** be their Genin instructor. How the job fell to another while he took on a 'youthful' apprentice. 'Strange' and 'odd' being relative terms for him now, and nearly everything taking a back seat to his internal battle anyway.

But he couldn't ignore the rather sharp shove which nearly toppled him over from his seated contemplation.

"Oi! What was that for?!" His usual response shot out of his mouth before he had a chance to think.

"Sorry, geeze!" The girl held her hands up defensively. "But you weren't responding to me… and to tell the truth I kind of forgot your name…" She finished, rubbing her arm in embarrassment.

"Well, what do you want?" He didn't really mean to be so curt, and probably should have taken into account that he didn't know her name, either. And if the snippets he'd caught in between were anything to go by, they'd be working together for the foreseeable future.

The girl huffed, folding her arms and shot him a look of irritation which he took in stride.

"I was just going to tell you that the meeting was over. I thought that you looked completely spaced out when Gai-Sens- I mean, Maito-san explained how he wouldn't be our team's instructor and that we would be getting a replacement here tomorrow." She scoffed at his lost look. "I guess I was right to assume."

"Right…" He blinked, trying to dredge up any of the conversation he'd managed to catch.

The brunette heaved a relenting sigh, rolling her eyes and uncrossing her arms.

"Well, I'm not actually that surprised you missed that. To be fair, Maito-san seemed a bit… overzealous, and it was hard to catch on to what he was saying between all the talk about 'youth' and 'youthfulness'."

He cringed as he did indeed catch snippets of that and vowed to repress the memory. For Ruby's sake, he hoped she didn't have to suffer through that either.

The thought about his _other_ almost dragged him back into his internal congress but the girl managed to intercept him before that happened, muttering something he later realized he wasn't meant to hear.

"…I'm sorry?"

She turned back to him with her face twisted into a sour expression. Something Naruto immediately recognized, having adopted one very similar whenever he made a social faux pas.

"…I was just saying that it might have actually been nice to have a teacher like that to counter the sourpusses on the team." She told him frankly with little regret.

That emotion fell to him as he realized that he'd been less than friendly with someone who might have actually been making an effort to get to know him.

"I'm sorry." He apologized lowly, head fixed at his feet. "I've just been dealing with some stuff lately and got a lot on my mind."

There girl blinked in surprise but nodded to signify that she accepted his apology. She clasped her hands behind her back and sketched him a bow, showing off her two immaculate hair buns before she popped back up with a politely reserved smile.

"That's okay. If we're going to be teammates we need to learn about one another. My name is Tenten. What's yours?"

Though her cheer seemed more forced than faked, it was the seemingly truthful ignorance to who he was which had Naruto staring back in wonderment before he realized he was being rude again. "Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto." He stood up and dusted himself off before mimicking the short bow.

She gave him another mute smile and said: "It's nice to meet you, Naruto-san. I apologize for not catching your name earlier."

"That's alright, I guess no one else really expected me to pass, either, and so they weren't prepared for another graduate this year." He rubbed the back of his head in chagrin, hoping he didn't appear to be bragging.

"Still, the fact you managed to graduate this early anyway is an accomplishment. It seems I'm the only one on the team who's not a genius- well, at least until we figure out who our new sensei is."

Naruto frowned, despite the fact that she seemed genuine with the compliment.

"I'm really not a genius." Tenten just shrugged and took a handful of tapping steps away from him.

"Well, maybe you're just the kind that Maito-san was talking about. A genius of hard work." Naruto appeared to be thinking about this but didn't know if he truly believed it. He was constantly having to redraw the borders of what constituted his 'self' these days. The talent could have just as easily been Ruby's.

"Anyway," He noticed she was making it a habit of grounding his thoughts in the present, and he almost didn't want to let her leave. "Seeing as we've got an extra day, I'm going to go take care of a few thing in preparation for the second exam tomorrow. I also promised to help the old man out in his shop today, so I'm going to get going. See you tomorrow!"

She waved at him which he mirrored automatically, replaying the last few lines in his head.

"Second test?"

"Don't forget! 6:00 AM tomorrow morning!" She called as she bounded off across the rooftops.

Committing that tidbit to memory, he once again allowed his mind to wander as his body slowly retraced its steps back to his dingy apartment, in no hurry for anything that awaited him there. Walking helped him to think, and he found that he didn't become quite so stuck in logic when he was on the move.

His body kept him on a straight but meandering path, passersby giving him plenty of space and he ignored them like usual.

He had taken a momentary break from his previous focus, and instead replayed what he could of what he'd missed in the last few hours. As he got to the point of his conversation with Tenten, it brought his mind to the matter of the other two unknowns on his team. What would his new sensei be like? And who was their mysterious third who was evidently a 'genius'?

Somehow, he couldn't shake the idea of that space being filled by Ruby.

* * *

Naruto's fears were not unjustified, and for the next several days Ruby found herself subject to unparalleled amounts of fear surrounding everyday events.

She would see Naruto in every empty desk at school. In every pane of glass where her reflection should have been, it was the blond young boy instead. It didn't even matter that she hardly had an idea what he looked like, the boy having not even a mirror to his name. The ghostly visage which haunted her waking hours was recognizable in the same way she knew herself every time she looked through his eyes.

And what should have been a reliable refuge suddenly was not. Gone was the confidence she had when traipsing about the streets of Konohagakure, and suddenly everything there seemed utterly foreign and wretchedly frightening. For once knowing the truth behind her nightly voyages, the harsh reality crossed over into her waking hours and contaminated her normal life.

However, as anyone who has survived that dystopian period known as pubescence knows, the struggle is real for everyone. And despite these uncomfortable changes the young girl was now experiencing, the end result would, should, be for the better. Like any amount of ridged training will tell you, there is pain and hardship in improving one's mind and body. It is just so often hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

So while she was well within the darkest part of her journey thus far, it was hard for her to see that any good would come of it. For what had been a thoroughly unflappable girl, personality border lining on aloofness, now became a skittish rabbit frightened at every bump in the road.

Her new behavior did not go unnoticed by either teacher or parent. And rather than assuring them that Ruby was in fact a normal girl who would not treat Grimm like they were mere toys to be dismantled, the 180 degrees turn that she took frightened them almost as much as it did her.

But despite their best efforts, she adamantly refused to see a psychologist. For what if she really was crazy? She would no doubt have to give up on her dream to become a huntress. And in the absence of her assuring dreams of the night, that was the only fixed concept she still possessed.

She would simply have to start depending on herself.

But where to start?

First and foremost, a reply was in order.

"Watcha writing?"

She had just finished figuring out how to start, reassuring herself that he would be able to read Roman characters as well as herself and sounding out the spelling of his name, when in her concentration her sister managed to sneak up on her.

"A letter." She answered simply, not bothering to hide the three words already down on the paper.

This answer didn't do anything to assure her sibling's curiosity, however. For who wrote anything with pen and paper anymore when a scroll could send a message across the world within seconds? And furthermore, who did her sister have to write to? She asked as much, and there was no way for the rough blonde to make it inoffensive.

Ruby bit her bottom lip in consternation but couldn't get upset with her sister telling the truth. She had no friends, and so had no one to write to.

"You're not writing to an imaginary friend, are you?" The blonde worried, laying a hand on the thirteen-year-old which was meant to be comforting but made Ruby twitch at the contact.

"No." Again answering truthfully. "Not exactly." Which again did nothing to assuage her doting nature.

"Why don't you try making friends with your classmates? After all, they're right here." Hand spread wide over the blacktop to illustrate the gaggles of teens several years older than her milling about in loose flocks.

"They all think I'm weird." She couldn't blame them.

"Why don't you give them a chance to know you? Come on, I'll introduce you to some of my friends, and then you can work on making some of your own." Yang gently prodded her sister, seeing that the younger girl was less reluctant to be corralled into a social activity than before.

Ruby couldn't find it in her to resist her sister any longer, haphazardly packing away her writing supplies into her puppy-themed backpack and being swept up under the boxer's arm. Only uttering a weak protest under her breath.

"But there's already someone who knows me…"

* * *

 _Dear Naruto Uzumaki,_

This time, when they met together on the roof of the academy to meet the new Genin instructor, he was distracted by excitement rather than worry.

Elation, delayed for his own accomplishment at passing the Genin exam ahead of his peers, and confirmation that he hadn't completely ruined things with _her_. She was at least willing to try and write him back. It didn't matter that she transposed his name to her standards, and it didn't even matter what else she would have written had she not been interrupted. The mere fact that she had gone through the trouble of acknowledging his existence was more than most of the village had done before.

Should he try writing more? What should he write? Did she understand Japanese hiragana as much as he understood romaji? He admittedly had trouble reading his own chicken scratch, so maybe it was better he try and copy her bubbly squiggles again, and it would be safer in case anyone ever found his notes and tried to decipher them-

"Oi, Blondie. Care to participate sometime today?"

Tenten shot him an exasperated look which he interpreted to mean that she had already tried to stir him. Their third team member scoffed arrogantly and whipped his luxurious head of hair away, clearly insinuating that if he wasn't worth Naruto's attention, Naruto wasn't worth his. The Jonin simply continued to sit and stare dispassionately, wide chocolate eyes boring uncomfortably into him despite the patient mask he wore.

"Uh….sorry. What was the question?" His two teammates groaned in different octaves, and he had the presence of mind to look embarrassed.

"We're doing introductions. Name, likes and dislikes, dreams for the future." The older man uttered without inflection.

"What's the point of him telling us? He clearly didn't listen to anything we had to say. Besides, what will it do to inform each other of such trivial matters? The only thing that is required of a team is that they don't drag down the progress of the strongest member." From the way he spoke, Naruto knew that they had already elected himself for that prestigious position.

"I'm sorry." Naruto apologized sincerely with only the barest hints of annoyance, cutting off Tenten before she could come to his defense and drag her own name down with him.

"Apologies without assurance are meaningless. What's done is done." Naruto glared halfheartedly at the boy-was it a boy? He had an especially hard time figuring things out like that after looking through the opposite gender's eyes for so long.

"While I agree with the words, I do not necessarily agree with the sentiment. Seeing as I am the one in charge here, I will decide when something is unnecessary." The plain-looking Jonin nodded his head in the blond's direction. "But Neji is correct. Your apology will be accepted as long as you do not let yourself become distracted again. Such a mistake can be fatal in the line of duty, not only for yourself but your teammates as well."

"Hai, sensei." Naruto bowed his head, forcing aside his thoughts on Ruby and the letter for now. If she could see through his eyes as well as he could through hers, she would understand if he didn't write back right away.

"Right. Well, in truth the introductions didn't take that much time, and the second exam won't last more than a couple of hours. So why don't we take things from the top? It would give other people a chance to rethink their first introductions." The man shot one of his unassuming stares at the boy whose name was apparently Neji.

Though the mention of the second exam once again threatened to consume his entire attention, he resisted the urge to submit to either distraction. He focused his happy mood instead on the here and now, listening dutifully to his teammate's spiels this time around.

They were mostly unassuming, and that was including their Jonin instructor whose name was ostensibly Yamato- just Yamato. He could already tell that he and Neji were going to butt heads quite often, he just held out hope that Tenten would be a good moderator for the two of them until they could work out their issues. And more importantly, until he could work out his own.

He couldn't yet say if it was a good change in his life, or a bad one. Probably wouldn't be able to until well after the second test. But it was a step out into the light, and that was what was most important right then.

* * *

What would she write?

After an excruciatingly awkward lunch hour being introduced to her sister's friends and getting plenty of practice with what **not** to say, Ruby still had no idea what she was going to tell Naruto in her letter. It wasn't like she could ask for advice, either. For no matter how natural the bond between them felt, she could infer quite easily that it was not considered 'normal' to anyone else.

She was relieved to go back to class where it was almost guaranteed that she would be left alone to complete the monotonous work in solitude.

She could just wait for him to write her back, as he had the first time. Although, considering he hadn't gotten much farther than her that first time around, perhaps she should be the one to take the next step.

It was a day for firsts, after all.

But as she sat now in front of her desk in the comfort of her home, hand poised over the blank parchment, her eyes caught on the small moleskin notebook which was a constant fixture on that humble piece of furniture.

Her diary.

There had never been a need to hide the otherwise private information it contained, she hadn't had any secrets to keep from her father or sister- well, until now that is. But everything that could ever be said about her until that point had been written down in front of her eyes already, though she had yet to think about it under this context. If Naruto didn't know almost everything about her by then, no amount of her spilling her guts on the page would help them become acquainted.

So she slid that doodle-strewn cover in front of her, cracking the well-worn spine and laying it out flat where the velvet ribbon marked the latest page.

She began to write.

 _Dear… Naruto,_

And once again she stopped, almost losing the momentum she had gained. But she ground her teeth and vowed to press on, penning just three more words. But they were three more words that had never been laid out before, and she emphasized their importance with a thick line swiped underneath, smiling at her finished work like it was a masterpiece of genius.

 _Who are you?_


	6. 3rd Person Perspective

**Wow. I am just…dead this week. On top of having my full workload, I 'volunteered' to help my friends move some very heavy machining equipment (I'm talking tonnage here). Plus, chemistry is beating my ass black and blue. Physically, mentally depleted.**

 **But then there's you guys. And I just find it so difficult to abandon you all at this point. So even in death, I will continue to write so as to satisfy both you and me.**

 **Because that's the kind of man I was. (P.S. you can also see what anime has been eating up my free time- what little there is.)**

* * *

Naruto wrote. And wrote. And wrote some more.

He had never written so many words in his entire academic career, not even in his entire life. But he hardly noticed the strain it put on him, the cramps in his wrist and the late nights which drew him temporarily away from his self-imposed training regime.

There was no pain nor guilt because he had finally found someone he could call a friend, and that was even more important than achieving the recognition of everyone else.

But contrary to his promise, he did let it infringe on the time spent with his team. It was clear to two of them that he was continually being distracted, and to Neji- who it turned out was **indeed** a boy as he suspected, that he was indeed the weakest link. This did nothing to improve their dynamic, which was strained at best and abysmal in many other's opinions.

On no few occasions Yamato had hinted that if he didn't pull himself together then he would be forced to report the behavior to the Hokage. It would only be years later that he would discover that the Jonin had already been updating The Old man anyway, and that he only gave Naruto the verbal warning when the situation looked to be untenable. He never got a chance to thank the man for sticking up for him all those times in between.

Surprisingly, it had been Ruby who had managed to break him out of this pattern. She too was being harried by outside forces, trying to get her to pay more attention to her own life as her grades began to slip and her father left her with an ultimatum: show improvement or he would pull her out of the fast-track program.

As delicately as possible, she threatened to cut him off if he didn't do the same. It wasn't like he could hide anything from her, and so he really was given no choice in the matter. No matter how much it hurt to be weaned off his first friend, it would be far worse to lose her entirely. It would be a living hell to be forced to see through her eyes, knowing that she hated him. It never occurred to him that she could not quit him as much as he could not quit her.

But the mutual bluff worked.

They went back to the usual routine of silently trying to outdo one another, the progress only enhanced by Naruto's new instructor and teammates giving the two of them all sorts of ideas. Ruby decided that she was in love with Tenten, and wasn't honestly sure if she was being literal or figurative.

Things went even better for Ruby than they did Naruto. She was not held to any upcoming deadlines, the soonest one being graduation from Signal projected at two and a half years from where they were now. And with her improved attitude, her father ceased worrying- or at least stopped doing so every waking hour of the day. Her grades stabilized, and she was allowed to stick on in Signal alongside her sister who couldn't be prouder of her little 'genius' who still insisted that she was not 'the bee's knees'.

She still did not have many people she could call friends, or even truly acquaintances. But with her increased drive and focus on the day to day, she felt less reluctance to extend an olive branch when the opportunity presented itself. Which it did more and more frequently as she came upon barriers which Naruto could be of no help, and she was forced to reach out to her upperclassmen for advice.

She made 'friends' with a few students a year ahead of her in studies and a good three or four in terms of age. But they didn't seem to mind the discrepancy, and encouraged the younger student whenever they could, even going so far as to attend her spars and cheer her on to the almost preordained victory.

Though she drew the line when the fashion-conscious member of their gang expressed a desire to take her out shopping. She wasn't quite ready for that level of social interaction just yet. But she appreciated the sentiment.

She got along better with the Faunus among them, her shy personality reminding her own her own- and maybe even a little bit of Naruto's classmate, his teammate's cousin with the way both of them would frequently blush and squeak when trying to express themselves.

They were strange. But so was she. And so she was happy.

For a time.

* * *

Events in Naruto's life weren't exactly bad in comparison. Honestly, nothing could be quite as miserable as the situation he'd found himself in before becoming a Genin, and he shuddered to imagine what would have happened had he never been given access to Ruby's life.

He just couldn't boast quite as smooth progress as his female counterpart. Or at least, that's the way it felt from his perspective as the days were occupied half the time by sparring with his unchanging teammates and half doing glorified chores for people who still hated his guts. Tenten was still nice enough to him, and he couldn't help the unconscious attraction he felt thanks to Ruby's obsession with her arsenal of weapons.

But Neji was another matter.

Speaking of, he was currently engaged in a three-way spar with the two of them, and in the midst of dodging a salvo of palm-strikes from the aforementioned pain-in-the-arse when his distraction caused him to receive a 'love-tap' on his shoulder. He hissed in pain and flashed away in a swirl of red leaves-the closest he could get to mimicking Ruby's semblance thus far.

Unlike the girl a with predisposition for speed however, he could not continuously string the acceleration techniques together and so was caught up in a cloud of weapons the moment he reappeared. Cursing both his distraction and lack of Aura- he also shot an apology to Ruby on the side for the pain he was causing her- he whipped out his kusarigama and spun the chain around him rapidly in an imitation of what he'd seen his Hyuuga teammate do once.

It worked well enough for the metal weapons, but did nothing for the lithe Byakugan user who slipped in between the spiral cocoon and attempted to deliver another set of strikes to knock Naruto out of the fight.

Not about to let himself be taken down by the same trick so easily, Naruto made to intercept the blows with his now deployed weapon and showing that his incredible speed wasn't just due to the Shunshin. Neji never let his frustration with being unable to hit the blond show. Although it did help that he always looked constipated anyway with his Doujutsu activated.

That was the chief contention between the two to date. The fact that Neji couldn't acknowledge Naruto's comparable strength, continuing to degrade him whenever he lost to the older boy and citing 'fate' as the sole culprit.

Now, Naruto wasn't exactly able to dismiss such a concept, given that it must have been divine intervention which paired him with Ruby. But he was also a staunch believer in personal responsibility, the last few months being irrefutable evidence to this fact. Obviously, he couldn't exactly tell Neji about this, nor would he expect the stuck-up boy to take him on word alone. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that he must look insane to anyone else.

But that insanity didn't negate the results, and those too were undeniable as Naruto dodged or deflected every one of the other boy's palm-strikes with his kama technique honed through hard work alone. Having been counting the seconds in his head, he flashed away just as one of the strikes was about to land on his chest, reappearing right next to Tenten in mid-air.

The girl tried and failed to hold in her shock as a diminutive "Eep!" escaped her lips. But she quickly drew a ninjato and blocked the first swing, being sent back and rebounding off a tree before having the blade wrapped up in the chain portion of Uzumaki's weapon. Rather than struggle, she just let go of the disposable sword and drew a pair of sai, jabbing one through a link in the chain and yanking Naruto towards the other.

Naruto let himself be dragged through the air, meeting her blade for blade and exchanging a few quick blows before disappearing again in a flurry of rusty leaves which ended up skewered on her sai like marshmallows over an open fire. She felt a rush of wind behind her which she knew predicated the next attack, but she could do nothing for it as Naruto swept her up in a hook which knocked the wind out of her and sent her flying into the trees, dragging both of their weapons along for the ride.

Spying the end of the tail-like chain, Naruto reached out and grabbed onto the weighted end of his kusarigama and whipped it back at Neji who was trying to take advantage of their distraction.

The other boy dodged the scythe-stinger easily enough, letting the chain caress his long, auburn hair as he ducked in his lightning charge.

Naruto cursed and leapt over his first strike, barely dodging the subsequent ones while trying to wrangle the bladed portion of his weapon back into his hands. But Neji was not going to let him recover this advantage, and had already decided to finish the match before Naruto could either counter or run away yet again.

"Eight Trigrams," Naruto verbally cursed, and Ruby idly noted to chide him for it later. "Sixty-four palms!"

Although, it wasn't like she couldn't understand where those 'dirty' words came from. She might have only felt the painful strikes as a dull throb on her subconscious, but knew that her otherworldly friend would be bearing the full brunt of every blow. Maybe there was an appropriate time to swear, and maybe that was it.

"Hmph." Neji stood over his prone form with only the barest hint of triumph across his tense and otherwise stoic face. "You should know by now, Uzumaki, that you can't defeat a Hyῡga in close-quarters battle." Both personalities in the boy's head growled as Neji sneered down at them. "Then again, it's doubtful that a one-trick pony like you could learn anything, let alone your place."

The pain he felt was debilitating, and he doubted that Neji had held back all that much, if at all. Considering how many times he **had** managed to earn the boy's ire by avoiding the technique, he must have been trying _really_ hard to hit him, and that kickstarted his resilience yet again.

Naruto knew better than most the difference between feeling like you could do nothing, and being incapable of doing something.

As Neji prepared to rehash his denunciation of those 'lesser' individuals, he was clueless to the chained weapon that was still in Naruto's hand. He had less than a half-second by the time he saw Naruto's hand give a small jerk and felt the metal coil around his legs.

He toppled over unceremoniously on his rear as the downed blond chuckled painfully.

"Why, you…"

Whatever insult he had perched on his lips was rudely interrupted by the razor-sharp blade of a simple kunai held close enough to his throat to shave the stunted hairs on his feminine face.

"Looks like I win." Tenten crowed cheerfully, ignoring the murderous glare being sent to her by the one under her blade and instead choosing to reciprocate the feeble grin on her other teammate's scrunched face.

"Well done you three." Yamato congealed from a nearby tree, a sight they'd tentatively gotten used to over the past few weeks. "Good job on seizing the opportunity, Tenten. And well-done Naruto for creating the opening, as well as resisting their combine attacks for as long as you did." It did not escape notice that he praised everyone but Neji, who was already feeling degraded from being bested with so 'cheap' a trick.

Code-name Yamato noted the added wrinkles to his Genin's brow when he intentionally excluded him. It was no secret to everyone including himself, that the boy needed to be taken down a peg or two.

On the plus side, he was finally starting to see why Naruto had been deemed ready to graduate early. Although he was still convinced that it was the correct decision to place him in charge of watching the boy- lest the fox rear its ugly head prematurely, he was performing a right sight better compared to his uninspiring introduction. Whatever had been distracting him seemed to be resolved, for now.

But he still had yet to find out exactly what that hidden issue might have been, and thus failed that part of the mission. If it was the Kyuubi trying to influence the boy, then they might not be out of danger quite yet. His ANBU training would not be getting dull quite so quickly.

He enumerated a few of their more grievous flaws as they busily collected themselves, Tenten giving the still scowling boy a hand up, and Naruto struggling to remove his face from the dirt. This time Yamato did not spare Neji the criticism, much to the teen's obvious chagrin. He still carefully observed the teen as he reluctantly unsealed enough of Naruto's Chakra points that the boy could stand on his own without Tenten's support.

"So," He began after the debriefing, cheer in his voice hardly spreading to his wooden face. "Who's up for a D-Rank mission to round out the day?"

There were mumbles of varying degrees of indignation, but none wanted to outright complain about taking on another mission when the promise of a C-Rank was so close. In the end, they all presented character-unique expressions of consent, mostly wordless and borderline impolite. But Yamato didn't mind. After all, he knew he could always pay them back later. Still that ANBU training coming in use.

The malicious glint went unnoticed to most in their weary state, but a hidden onlooker caught it from her place of perfect vantage. Although, she could do nothing to warn the others about it, and so elected to sit back an enjoy the misery of others for as long as possible. Soon enough it would be her turn again.

Naruto grimaced as he rolled his shoulder, trying to break the irritating feeling of pins and needles which sat under his shoulder-blade.

He just hoped that Ruby was finding some entertainment out of all this.

* * *

Although, he didn't think that she was the type of person to take solace with the pain of others.

Especially when he himself had to restrain a wince every time she found herself harshly slapped down by her uncle whom Naruto could tell was only pulling his punches as far as necessary to avoid serious injury to the girl. Not for the first time did he wish he could step in and take the blows on the girl's behalf. But that would be devaluing the entire point of the exercise, not to mention the strength that he knew Ruby to possess.

Not much had visibly changed since the first bout with the dusty old crow. It followed mostly the same pattern, with Ruby constantly having to pick herself up off the ground, just so that she could charge the man with her best battle cry and be defeated within a few short rounds before finding herself in the same position as whence she started.

"Ready to call it a day, kid?" Qrow's slight smirk loomed high over her head, blocking out the sun. Naruto had the urge to berate the older man for underestimating her, but by now knew it was pointless to even try.

Besides, Ruby answered for herself, wobbling unsteadily to her feet with the newly christened _Crescent Rose_ braced underneath her. How such a scrawny girl could heave such a massive weapon he would never know. But damned if he wasn't envious of their metallurgy.

"One more," He could _feel_ the strain in her voice. "One more time, I'm-I'm sure I'll land a hit this time."

"Heh. Keep dreaming, kid."

Having already calmed himself down, Naruto didn't bother to get self-righteous at this jibe. He could hear the poorly-hidden pride behind the man's voice, and had already noticed the vast improvement between that first bout two years ago and the culmination today. Qrow _was_ still pulling his punches, but not nearly as much as he'd had to before. Watching the way his own sensei moved had given him new appreciation for the vast difference between students and masters. Her uncle clearly fell into the second category, but even if she couldn't see it, she was catching up fast.

He ought to let her know that, next time he wrote.

In fact, she was improving even as the current match wore on. It became obvious as she regained her footing and regarded her uncle with more wariness than before, not rushing in like she had the previous dozen times. The smirk on the older man grew imperceptibly at this newest development and he agreed to play her game, the two circling one another like hungry Beowolves.

Grimm were still a paradigm which Naruto was trying to wrap his head around. Their nature was inconceivable to him, if only because of the sheer havoc they would cause in a place like the Elemental Nations. In Remnant they seemed to be little more than a nuisance, and he was willing to accept that. But with all the anger and animosity which was palpable even to **him** as he wandered the streets in Konoha- a supposedly peaceful village, then what would the Grimm see if ever they came to his home world?

That was a thought he willingly postponed.

Just in time to see the two fighters break their preliminary stalemate.

Because she was still getting used to working her weapon with gravity-dust rounds to boost her speed, Qrow thought that when she shot herself at him off-mark that it was due to inexperience, fatigue, or both. But immediately when she pivoted on a heel planted firmly in the ground, he knew that he had made a misassumption, and had to quickly alter his lazy dodge to a hasty defense.

The two blades skittered off one another in a glowing shower of sparks. The elder huntsman felt himself excited, because this is what he'd been waiting for ever since Ruby unlocked her Aura: a chance to go all out.

Still, she wasn't there just yet, and he was well aware of the need to take it easy on his two- decade junior, and thus limited his repost to a horizontal strike which she blocked easily. As they exchanged blows another couple of times, he gradually increased the pressure, continuing to be impressed when she matched him pound for pound.

He tried to catch her off-guard with some hand-to-hand, or in this case, foot-to-torso as he lashed out with a nail-driving sidekick when she went high and left her stomach exposed. Not having been witness to her private training where she tried emulating Naruto's academy taijutsu, Qrow was justifiably shocked when she moved her knee up to block instead of trying to deflect it with _Crescent Rose_ like he expected.

Perhaps he was more socked that she'd hardly budged an inch as his booted heel impacted her bare leg, the only sign that his foot actually connected being a worrying smile on the petit girl's face.

As soon as her own foot touched the ground, she spun on her ball with a retaliatory kick coiled close into her body like a ballerina. Which she then unleashed with all the fury of a viper on the other side, forcing the older man to take half a step back as he blocked.

"Oh-ho." He chuckled excitedly.

A hop and a skip brought his other leg up which was blunted on the shaft of Ruby's scythe held diagonal across her body. She knocked it back and jabbed at his face with the pommel of her weapon, forcing him to bob and weave between the strikes. Then she dropped down to a crouch and swung at his legs, which was immediately followed by an upward swing when he leapt up to avoid it.

Frustratingly, the man managed to deflect that as well and came back at her with an axe-kick as he descended to the ground. She was forced on to her back foot, not given a break when subsequent battering strikes rained down on her faster than her thirteen-year-old body could cope with. She may have been exceptionally strong for that age, but it was no comparing to a full-grown adult who simply used the mass of his weapon to bear down upon her.

But there was one way she **could** match it. It was something she'd been working on the same time Naruto had been practicing Chakra exercises like tree-climbing, which subsequently led to imbuing muscles with the energy for reinforced jumps and strikes.

She still hadn't figured out a way to mimic the spider-like powers of the shinobi, but she had discovered the analogous effect to power the body with Aura usage. Although, she still did not have much energy to spare in that department- at least not compared to her Uncle and certainly not Naruto. At the moment it was either try or face the certain failure of defeat yet again.

Both were shocked when her heal was driven into the ground from the hammering strike, but she did not waver.

Recovering faster than his niece simply due to experience, Qrow recommenced his blunt strategy and pounded away at her a few more times, just in case it was a fluke. By the fifth ringing interception, it was obvious it wasn't. But before he had time to decide on his next course of action Ruby had already taken the pause as a signal that it was her turn.

Qrow's eyes widened as he felt his bones quiver from the incredulously heavy return strike. He saw her raise her arms up for another weighty slash which would no doubt be every bit as earth-shaking as the previous, and so braced himself for the inevitability.

It was only after the rose petals clouded his vision that he realized he'd been had.

Though her semblance may have been speed, once on the other side of her uncle she quit using it and slowed to an almost crawl as the strain of her wanton Aura usage caught up to her. To be honest, even if she'd been at full tilt when attacking her Uncle's blind spot, the man was fast enough on his own merit that he probably would have seen her coming anyway.

So, it was almost expected when he jabbed her in the gut with the butt of his weapon, knocking the wind out of her and sending her to her knees.

"Woah, easy there, kid." He caught her as she fell and held her as she struggled to regain her breath with gasping pants. "Sorry about that, Ruby. I guess you really almost got the drop on me that time." But she neglected to hear the compliment past her coughing.

He rubbed her back with guilt spattered all over his face. He really hadn't meant to hit her that hard. Perhaps if he hadn't been underestimating her from the beginning he might have been able to catch her before it came to that point.

"Deep breaths, deep breaths… there you go. Just take it easy." He soothed as best as possible with that gruff voice of his.

"Uncle Qrow- *Cough!*- what the-*Hack!*-what the heck?!" She glared at him, hands clutching her stomach which she was sure was bruised underneath the lightly padded training garment.

"Yeah, sorry again." He rubbed the back of his bed-head, not knowing what else to say. At least until he remembered something else. "Won't tell your dad on me, will ya?"

The shaded look which came across her face underneath black, sweaty bangs made him realize he should have just let sleeping dogs lay. The wicked grin which sprouted in those humid conditions told him it was too late for thoughts like that, and he groaned as he contemplated the price for her cooperative silence.

"Alright." He deflated. "What do I owe ya?"

His question caused her to glance up at him, keeping that malicious smirk on her face. But after a moment where she had him sweating as much as her, it disappeared in place of something he couldn't recognize. It might have been nostalgia. But he wasn't sure, not expecting to see such an emotion on one so young.

She relaxed and leaned against his wiry chest, laying her head on his shoulder and half-buried her face into his ruffled collar. He almost missed the words she mumbled, except that he could feel the through his aching bones.

"…promise you'll never go away? Promise that you'll always be there to help me get strong."

He couldn't claim to be comfortable in that situation, part of the reason he'd never had kids of his own. But maybe he should have, because right then he was ready to swear the world for her.

"I promise." He mumbled, giving her a half-hug with his right arm and scooping her up with his left. He just marveled with how light she felt, and felt his arms tighten a little more around her scrawny frame. "Anything else?" he whispered to the top of her head, whiskers getting soaked by the sweat on her scalp.

"…An ice-cream maybe? Strawberry?"

"You got it, kid…"

* * *

Naruto woke the next day feeling as if he'd already run a marathon.

But also like he'd finished that marathon, completed an odyssey to end up back in the arms of someone who loved him.


	7. 2nd Person Perspective

**_So, a lot of people have been asking me about when/ if Naruto and Ruby are going to meet one another._**

 ** _The answer is that I don't know. I originally wrote this as a oneshot with the mind that it COULD be more, but never evolved in my mind more than a few disconnected vignettes._**

 ** _While I am sure a lot of you want this (a few people not getting the memo that this is not likely to be Naruto x Ruby), I also can't see much of a convincing argument to letting them meet. At least, not without falling into the age-old tropes (which I am already guilty of abusing). So if you can suggest to me a plausible scenario, that just makes it all the more likely that I'll do it. Because while I like to stay one chapter ahead of what I've published so far, like I said, a lot of this is up in the air._**

 ** _So enjoy the freedom. While it lasts._**

* * *

 _Dear Ruby,_

 _I know that you must have seen everything that happened today._ _After all that, I hope that you are reading this, and I hope I can explain._

 _You've been with me so long that I keep thinking that you understand whatever I am doing, whatever I'm going through. I don't give a second thought to how it must look to you, how my actions must look to someone outside._

 _But I can't do that anymore. I can't ignore that you're a different person, and you're stuck with me. I want to do right by myself, but I also want to do right by you, too._

 _Right now I feel like I've failed that. I feel like if your father or sister were here, they'd never forgive me. I just need to know if you will._

* * *

"Say, Naruto?"

"Hm?" The sound of grinding stopped piercing the morning calm with a ringing shlick.

"You never did tell me why you picked up the kusarigama. I don't remember you ever using it in the academy."

The boy smiled and lifted the weapon above his head, closing one eye and looking down the blade as the sunlight streaming down from the treetops lit up the flawless curvature.

"Meh, no reason. Just seemed natural."

"Natural?"

"Mm-hm." He wound the chain around his body and carefully holstered the blade in a leather scabbard which hung off his hip.

She narrowed her eyes and leaned over him ominously, half a smirk forming on her lips. "I knew it.

"Knew what?" An unconscious twitch in his neck, dread that she could see the second conscious behind his wide, fearful eyes. Even though he suspected she was probably just playing with him, like usual.

"You really are a prodigy."

He blew her a raspberry and stood up, seeing their third member emerge from the tree line on the opposite side of the clearing.

"Nope." He said, popping the p. "If that's what one looks like, there's no way I'm a prodigy."

Tenten deliberately followed his gaze, looking over her shoulder. She had probably noticed Neji's approach at the same time he had and did not start at his materialization. She threw her other teammate a small wave which she knew wasn't going to be reciprocated, and instead turned back to resume her conversation with Naruto.

"Well then how do explain how you are so good? I've only been giving you pointers, and you soak those up almost as fast as I can think of them. Sometimes it seems like you already know what to do and just have to be reminded of it."

"Well, you **are** a good teacher." He chuckled as she checked his arm playfully, her unique way of showing embarrassment which Ruby likened to her sister. "Well… I might have also had some extra lessons."

"What? From wh-"

"She's not in Konoha right now." He regretted seeing the spark of curiosity he helped fan be smothered so quickly. But he didn't want to lead her on with false hopes. And he knew that with the arrival of their third teammate she would soon have something else to occupy her attention.

"Tenten, Naruto." The aristocratic boy duly acknowledged with a curt nod to each.

"Ohaiyo Neji."

The reply, however, was singular as Naruto retracted into his cloud of thoughts after Tenten had unwittingly stirred them, and hardly registered his name being called.

"Naruto?"

"Hm?" Tenten's voice reliably returned him to reality, and he looked blinkingly at her sarcastically expectant face.

"Neji." She pointed to their teammate who had averted his eyes in a huff of indignation.

"Oh, right. Sorry. Good morning, Neji."

"I thought Yamato-sensei already had you trained to pay more attention to your surroundings."

"Yeah," Naruto admitted with limp grin and halfhearted shrug. "I knew you were there. You just hardly ever use my name, so I didn't realize you were speaking to me."

The three fell into their usual banter, the still slightly-uncomfortable routine which they had hashed out over several weeks of on again off again camaraderie. Tenten thought they were improving, as evidence by Naruto's upgrade from Kōhai, to Uzumaki, and now finally to the title the blond had insisted upon all along. In return, Neji was snapping less and less at their youngest member when being addressed informally and stopped issuing his wearisome sermons on a daily basis.

But Naruto could tell that all was not well beneath that veneer. He had seen perfection, and this was not it. Even if he buried his own feelings about Neji underneath the mutual détente, its impermanence was still obvious. It would not last. Just like his dreams, it was bound to be shattered.

"Morning everyone."

The one other person who might have suspected the icebergs beneath the surface popped out from one of the surrounding trees. There was no doubt he had been watching them all along. The only question remaining revolved around whether he was ignorant of the social discord, or if he expected them to work it out on their own.

"Morning Sensei." Came the chorus, and the man adorned one of his prefabricated smiles as he met each of their eyes individually.

Yamato was no fool. He must be waiting for them to resolve the issue themselves. In a way, it was reassuring to know he trusted them that much. With reaffirmed faith in their capabilities to overcome, Naruto straightened up and demanded cheerfully.

"So what're we doing today, Sensei?"

Whatever confidence he had just gained waivered slightly at the nail-biting smile delivered in his direction.

"I thought we might try a C-Rank mission today."

* * *

 _It's silly. But I wonder what would have happened if our situations were reversed. Would you have become a ninja?_

 _Before, I wouldn't have to think about it. There was no doubt you would. You are like me- at least that much. You're strong, and you want to protect people. So do I, and that's what I thought I was doing. Do you blame me for being wrong? Is it my fault for ignoring what was right in front of me?_

 _Never mind, I don't want to think about that anymore._

* * *

"Your client is a small village three clicks west of the coast. They have been complaining about bandits who regularly frequent the Tōkaidō rout, which is a major thoroughfare in and out of the village."

The four watched as the Old Man hotboxed the tobacco in his pipe, letting the leaves flare up in a cloud of aromatic smoke before he set it aside to let it smolder.

"Because the village is technically in the Land of Hotsprings which have no shinobi force of their own, they are paying out of pocket for this mission because the government refuses to do anything about it. They are adamant that the taxes payed by the village already go to road maintenance, and refuse to do anything because of the already delicate verdict regarding the extent of borders."

It was easy to see both sides of the argument, from the eyes of both government and citizens. The only ones obviously at fault being the bandits themselves, and so it was not difficult to resign themselves to the solution.

"Your job is to eliminate the immediate threat to the village, according to your sensei's discretion."

The words were harsh to all three sets of neophyte eyes, and all four young listeners. But they still held out hope, or otherwise assumed that the phrasing could simply mean they would be knocking a few heads together for discouragement.

No matter how obvious, the alternative was unthinkable, even though it was suspected by at least one.

'Eliminate the threat' was straightforward to Ruby. She'd heard the words frequently in each one of her classes, from history to practical study. It was as callously uttered as it was here, but had always applied to those soulless beasts, and never to living people.

"Your client is waiting in the foyer. He will escort you to the village whereupon you will move quickly to locate the bandit camp. You will not need to spend overly long in the village itself, because of its technical supervision by a foreign government."

It could have just been the tenuous political situation, but none bothered to question the Hokage personally overseeing their debrief. In Ruby's mind as in Naruto's, the village leader was the grandfatherly Old Man, and so fit innocuously into the role without either of them giving it much thought.

"Tread carefully. Normally this would be a B-Rank mission considering the potential consequences, but the village itself can only afford a C-Rank at the moment and the actual requirements are not out of your team's capabilities. I do not need to tell you that every time you step outside these walls, your village's reputation is at stake. I trust that you will keep this in mind during the task ahead."

"Hai, Hokage -sama."

Ruby found herself ghosting the words along with her counterpart, a comforting familiarity such that duty was.

Was it normal for such a grim speech to be given for such a trivial mission? Then again, neither Ruby nor Naruto could claim to know what normal entailed, and the words like anything else were meaningless without experience which neither of them had.

"Remember, you three," Yamato spoke in a tone not unlike the Old Man's parting words as they exited the stuffy office. "Even though the reputation of your village is important, do not let that distract you from staying safe. Always protect your teammates. You should have their backs, and they should have yours."

"Hai, sensei."

As the chorus rang out yet again, Ruby couldn't help thinking about her sister. She could trust Yang to do so, but could the three of them claim as strong a bond? They'd only been working together a scant few months, and it hardly compared to the lifetime spent in the company of family.

But Ruby herself would one day have to work in the same situation, with people even less familiar. That was a scary thought.

* * *

 _I didn't ask to be given this life. Neither of us did. That's not an excuse, just a thought. I suppose I could have been a civilian, just like you could have. But that would have been hard in its own way, wouldn't it?_

 _And in the end, did either of us really have a choice?_

* * *

The journey was slow and monotonous, which would turn out to be not that bad. It gave Ruby and Naruto plenty of time to marvel at the world outside of Konoha. And even though unbounded forest was not something new to either of them, there was something different about the trail taken now. The way the sunlight filtered through the higher branches, the way the wind felt when it coursed through Naruto's starchy hair, the earth underneath his warmer, stouter body, and the primordial smell of the trees which was so fundamentally different than the virgin forests of Patch.

It also gave the two time to think, and to write. Little activity during either of their days meant they could spare each other some thought without falling into the trap of distraction.

But even then, they had little to say which had not already been said. Or, they assumed they did not, content to think that the other already knew the thoughts which ran through the other's head. And like that, meaningless words bridged worlds and they found themselves taking for granted each other's extraordinary company.

Three days of travel would see them safely behind the village's meager walls. It was easy to see why they would need to hire protection. The young men of the town were all involved with the shipping and transporting of salts and minerals from the port cities to resorts further inland and had no training to speak of. It was not different than what they imagined settlements outside of the Kingdoms in Remnant to be like.

Meeting with the village mayor and the gathering of intelligence wouldn't take more than a few hours which went by in a blur. And before their unusual presence was noticed by the population at large, they would already find themselves staring at the rapidly retreating lumber bastions which skirted the settlement. Their sensei hot on the trail provided for them, and the three in tow not far behind.

Much like the village, the sight of the bandit camp was unassuming. But much could be hidden in the darkness, and none were foolish enough to let down their guard.

Yamato assumed command as they thought and hoped he would. It was comforting having an adult who knew what to do supervise their actions, absolve them of having to think about it. It made Ruby want to think of her father, even though the man clearly was not.

But it was still a relief to the feminine personality, as it prevented the potential issue from arising between Naruto and Neji. While the former was perfectly fine to defer to the older boy on their trivial missions thus far, Ruby knew that Naruto had a far larger prideful streak than she herself, and would not take kindly to contentions in such a prickly situation.

It was yet another reminder that they were indeed different people.

To everyone's great relief, their Jonin sensei planned a strategy for them which involved an overwhelming show of force in order to scare the bandits into sensibility, and otherwise incapacitate them should they prove uncooperative. No bloodshed required.

Naruto would flicker into the camp and cause as much chaos as possible, meanwhile Tenten and Neji would sweep in from south of the small hill the encampment pitched itself on, driving the denizens to flee rather than stay under cover. Yamato would sit back and let them take care of almost everything, watching from a place of vantage where he could step in should things prove more difficult than assumed.

They didn't. When Naruto appeared by the blazing campfire, the whirlwind of leaves he swept with him caught alight and bathed the area in a grand fireball, more light than heat, which startled the swarthy men who had been sitting unaware.

The result was almost immediate as most scrambled to flee the shock and awe tactic, while a handful of others managed to pick themselves up and charge at him with random assortments of weapons. Their lack of training showed, and soon before the last was defeated the others broke rank and fled into the darkness already ablaze with the sounds of panic.

Naruto was almost grateful for how easy things seemed to be going. He was honestly a little nervous at first. Not of failing, but of losing control.

While Ruby could compete with her classmates without blunting their strikes because of their wonderous Aura, Naruto had no such buffers available to him. And thus, he had to be careful with his weapon while sparring with allies. Though he elected to do the same now to avoid killing as much as possible, there was always the chance that doing so could get him, or his teammates hurt instead. And the words of his sensei unnecessarily replayed over again in his head, reminding him that he could not afford to do that.

Before the sounds of Neji's Gentle Fist slaps and Tenten's clang of weapons caught up to him, he pushed further into the camp, disabling and disarming people as he encountered them. It was almost pathetic, in his opinion, how easily they capitulated into disorderly chaos. He began to unknowingly attack with more vindictiveness than he was aware he possessed, the thought of these weak people praying on the only ones weaker than them making his blood boil.

At last he was confronted with someone who might prove a challenge, a burly man easily four times his meager height. The beast of a man wielding a bludgeon of some kind which was half as big around as he was, but which fit easily into the beartrap grip. He spoke in a thick accent that Naruto didn't even try to comprehend. He also didn't bother to remember the warning he was supposed to give because he doubted the man would listen to a child. He simply blitzed the man seconds before the club descended onto the space where he once was, lodging in the muddy earth will a dull thunk.

Everything had been a blur of battle thus far, and he felt himself almost disappointed that this man appeared no different. He was no Yamato, no Qrow, not even on par with his other two teammates. So it was for perhaps this reason that as he stood over the crumpled form of the behemoth's body, he allowed his guard to drop even for a minute.

He was staring with uncommon apathy at the man who was dead asleep when a cry erupted from behind him. He turned in time to see the silver glint of a blade jab out at him from the darkness.

And like Qrow had not long ago, he reacted instinctually and without remorse. Had it been his instincts alone, he might have gone for a move meant to disable, rather than kill. But so long spent emulating Ruby's movements along with his own deep-seated training, it was anyone's guess what the response would be.

Thus, it was only half a surprise when his blade passed cleanly through the flimsy kitchen knife and the flesh behind it, and he didn't have time to comprehend what his other senses were telling him of the sounds of meaty rending or the smell of iron dispersing into the air.

"Kaasan!"

He heard that, though, and his mind immediately translated it to mother, thrusting him back into the moment when he- when _Ruby_ lost her own mother. He froze.

But the person emerging from the darkness had no eyes for him or his sullied blade. They threw themselves down on the ground next to the mutilated corpse, where they proceeded to bawl their tawny eyes out.

Naruto could do nothing but stare- stare, and imagine that it wasn't some gypsy child with dirt-matted hair that he was looking at, but rather a raven-haired girl, a sun-kissed blond. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't **not** see himself or Ruby.

"Haruo!" Another shape- larger this time tripped out of the hectic night. And also without flicking an eye in Naruto's direction, scooped the young man into his arms. "Haruo! You must get away! You can't stay here!"

Only after he successfully blinded the boy from the horrific sight, pressing him into his emaciated shoulder, did he turn to face the young murderer.

"Enough!"

Naruto raised his blade automatically when confronted with the hateful glare the man was sending him, even though he knew he couldn't stomach any more bloodshed. "Isn't this enough, Shinobi-san? You've made your point. We'll go, and never come back, I promise you. You don't have to kill us to remind us we are dogs. We will crawl away with our tail between our legs, if you let us."

The stranger's mouth spouted a plea, but his eyes said clearly it was a threat as he stared back in impotent defiance, his calloused hands cradling the scrawny boy. Naruto had no idea what to say, nor what to do after all this, and so stood quietly with his hand clenched around the handle of his weapon.

"Then go." If it could be considered fortunate, Neji appeared next to and spoke for him. The pale lad congealing seamlessly from the darkness. "And do not come back, or else I can say with a certainty that we will not be as lenient."

Naruto wanted to decry the harsh word of his comrade, refute that callous ultimatum spoke on his behalf. But the blood itself was on his hands, and so he had nothing he could say.

"So cruel…" The man spat at the two of them as he rose but made no move to defy it. "I don't know which is worse, the heartlessness you demonstrate, or that of the people who raised you." He was shaking as he whispered these words, rocking the frail boy in his arms. "All of you consider us to be the monsters, just because we are different. Aye, we steal a bit here and there, and so what if we squat on public land? We do so to survive, because that's the way we've always done things."

He shook his head dismally and seemed to debate whether it was worth talking to the two brainwashed child soldiers.

"You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you? No, after all, you kids have grown up in one of the Hidden Villages, you'll never comprehend the freedom of what it's like to live outside their administration. If you do, they'll brand you missing-nin. No… I pity you."

"We are all caged." Neji hissed back as Naruto digested the strangeness of the man's words. "From the moment we are born we are locked into our stations. There is no changing that. To try and exist outside of the law is the same as anarchy, and it is untenable."

"I'm beginning to think that." The man was slinking away, his skeletal frame slowly disappearing into the darkness beyond the firelight. The sounds of conflict they noticed had long since died down. "We Gypsies have a long and proud heritage, but maybe the times have changed, and we are doomed as a race." His forbidding smile was the last thing left alongside two polished chunks of coal staring out at them from the empty night.

"One day you, too, will be confronted with a new reality, where the old truths don't fit in any more. For your sake, I hope that you are ready for it."

And like ghosts, he and the rest of the caravan disappeared into the blackness, leaving behind not a trace of battle nor indeed that anyone had ever lived there, apart from the gutted husks of caravans which might have been there for centuries.

* * *

 _You heard what Yamato-sensei had to say about it. All the larger nations consider them squatters, trash, vagabonds. Smaller nations consider them vermin._

 _They can't tell me that woman wasn't a person, a mother._

 _And I feel like I can shout and scream all I want, and they won't listen either. I can write to you over and over again, telling you I didn't mean it. I can tear up the page with words, whisper until my throat is raw and it won't change anything._

 _I feel like you've already made up your mind about me- have you? Is it like Neji says, and am I 'fated' to be stuck with the mantle of assassin?_

 _Please, give me something- give me anything. I can't ask you to forgive me. How can I when I can't forgive myself?_

 _Just, please,_

 _Help me._


	8. Ultimate Weapon

_Help me._

* * *

He was wrong. That was the first time Ruby could honestly say that with any certainty.

He was wrong that she wouldn't understand, that his words meant nothing to her. Despite not knowing what he might be thinking at any given moment of the day, she knew **him**. They were two people separated by a cosmic lobotomy, but like halves of a brain somehow still made up a larger whole. Right and left hand operating independently, but still able to touch one another over that infinite divide.

But just like how she couldn't know his every waking thought, right now he must be wondering what was running through her mind. He must have been as apprehensive as she was, watching, waiting for something definite.

So why was she just staring blankly ahead like an idiot? There were any number of things she could do to let him know how she felt, but she just couldn't surpass that moment of inertia to lift a pen to her aid.

Because she still couldn't justify how she felt.

She could understand- by golly she could understand, because she felt like she had been the one holding the blade. Just like how Naruto's kusarigama was _Crescent Rose's_ mirror, the swift and instinctual slash was hers. The blood had filled her nostrils as plain as day and the shroud of night as real as the desk underneath her. She was just as guilty as he was.

So how could she offer him solace, when she had yet to forgive herself?

"Ruby?"

She whipped around, latching onto a hand which placed itself on her shoulder. She stared bug-eyed back at a tawny stare which held such fear, such horrible and familiar fear.

She screamed.

"Ruby!"

The voice, insistent yet calm steadied her, silenced her cry.

"V-Velvet."

Finally recognizing that those hazelnut eyes weren't the inconsolable stare of the Gypsy child who lost his mother, but the distraught twinkling of her most recent friend. Her voice trembled as did her body as she lowered herself back down into her seat. She scoped around the cafeteria only to shy away at all the gawking eyes focused on her.

"R-Ruby," The familiar stutter was studded with urgency. "D-do you think you could let go of my arm?"

"Oh, I am so sorry!"

She instantly released the only person with wrists as spindly as her own, gasping at the angry red bracelet she had unwittingly caused. As if she didn't have enough to feel guilty over.

"Oh my gosh, Velvet, I am so, so sorry! I don't know what came over me."

Yet another wave of guilt washed over her as the other woman just smiled congenially back at her, trying her best to disguise the pained flinch which was an unconquerable reflex.

"Please, Ruby, don't worry about it." She hid the object of contention beneath the table, trying to return to her original intent. "I want to know if you are alright. You haven't said anything since school started, and just stare into space. And, well… i-it's lunch now…" She trailed off, losing the train her prearranged script. "I'm just a little worried, you know? You haven't acted this way for months now, and well…" She didn't need to say any more.

Ruby gave her first 'real' friend a sad smile, trying to be happy she had such people who would go out of there way to notice her abnormal behavior. Just like Naruto couldn't afford to continually eschew his surroundings, neither could she. Though for her, it was a matter of friendship, not life and death.

Well, not yet, anyway.

But when she opened her mouth to address the elephant in the room the only thing which came out was a weak choking sound. She froze once again, words caught in her throat as she hung up on that first sentence, that first syllable.

"I…"

She what? Had a friend? A celestial voyeur who was busy having an existential crisis while she was unlearning her language skills? She shook her head.

"Is Coco here today?"

The fragile look of hope on the Rabbit Faunus was carelessly crushed as the girl tried to change the conversation.

"No," Velvet reciprocated the gesture. "She called me yesterday to say that she would be sick. *Ahem*, she said… something about a fever…" She was too embarrassed of her childhood friend to admit that her full message had been _shopping fever_. "I guess… you'll just have to make do with me, huh?"

Ack! Nonononononon! That wasn't what she meant to do! Why did she always have to have so much collateral associated with her self-destruction? Why couldn't she just crash and burn by herself?

Why? Because she was never alone.

"No! That isn't what I meant, I just-I-" Now she was the one stuttering, mouth getting ahead of brain and not the other way around. "I…screwed up." With that one utterance, it felt like a pallet of bricks had just been removed from her chest.

Too bad there was still that semi parked there with about two-dozen more.

"I screwed up." She muttered again, staring down at her lap and trying not to look at her hands, lest she see them covered in blood. "And… I'm not sure what it means."

The soft woman gave her the hardest look she was capable of, disbelief etched on soapstone cheeks.

"You don't know what it means?"

"If it makes me a bad person."

Velvet blinked slowly. "What happened?" All trace of a stutter or hesitance had disappeared in this most dire of situations. Once again Ruby couldn't help but envy the older woman who had her priorities clearly delineated.

Ruby heaved a deep breath, unsure of where to begin, just that she had committed to saying something now.

"What if… what if something I did… may have… cost someone their life?"

The soapstone analogy became more appropriate as all color drained from Velvet's cheeks.

"Ruby, are you t-talking about a hypothetical?" They were not supposed to have their Ethical Studies class until their graduating year, and it didn't seem like Ruby was planning that far ahead. "Or-a-are d-do you mean to say that y-you k-k-ki-kil-"

"Uncle Qrow says that every day, just by us living here in Patch, people give their lives protecting us." She interrupted her friend so that she didn't have to say the word out loud. She also didn't take back what she said, and so could claim honesty with herself. "Even in places like Vale with sturdy walls to protect them, huntsmen and huntresses always have to be prepared to give their lives for others."

"A-and… you're feeling guilty simply for existing?" The sympathetic look Velvet was giving her almost made Ruby weep.

"Something like that." She answered truthfully.

"Oh, girl," She scooted her seat closer to Ruby's and smothered her in a one-armed hug. "You shouldn't be having such thoughts at your age."

She wanted to protest at being babied, point out the minor difference in age between the two like she would with her sister. But somehow Velvet always managed to exude a motherly vibe, an inclination which made her ageless and seemingly naïve. Like Ruby, but in a different way entirely. Not quite naïve, though. Limitlessly forgiving. Which only made her want to cry more.

So she did.

She cried for all the times she thought she was alright, all the times she felt she had to hold it in to keep herself- keep Naruto together. She cried tears for him, too. All the ones he couldn't afford to shed, and all the ones wasted on lonely nights without a shoulder to lean on. And as she cried, she listened.

"You shouldn't be so quick to take the world's burdens on your shoulders. You're so young and have nothing to be guilty for. Sure, you'll make mistakes as we all do. It's part of living, and it's part of the life we chose. Being huntresses means taking risks, risks whose mistakes will cost dearly. But the reason we choose to take those risks is because there is even greater reward. Anyone can kill Grimm, anyone can perish. It's something special to save a life that otherwise might not have survived. Instead of focusing on all that you can't do, or failed to do, concentrate on what's ahead and what's around you right now."

Lunch hour was almost over by the time she stopped. Wiping her tear and makeup-streaked face, she uttered an apology to the rabbit-girl who waved it off citing that it was nothing. If anything, Velvet seemed happier too, having been able to successfully help someone else.

She issued a silent apology to Naruto as well, for making him sit in silence while she had a breakdown. She would try and explain things to him later, hopefully with more eloquence than he had been able to manage. Someone had to be the brains in their relationship.

"Hey you guys, what's happening?" She had to blink twice, as for a moment she thought she had summoned the devil himself with all of his bubbly, blond glory.

Nope. It was just Yang.

"Oh, just having a little chat." Velvet said conspiratorially, giving Ruby's sister a hinting wink.

"Oh." The ball of sunshine flickered for a second, trying to process the fact that her sister had confided in someone else beside her when she cranked up the lights once again. "That's great! What'cha talk about? _Girl_ stuff?" Her sister teased, trying to appear more salacious than she actually was. In truth, Ruby probably knew more than her sister by now because of Naruto's shinobi lessons and 'extracurricular' escapades.

Didn't keep her from blushing like her namesake every time the subject was mentioned. She and Naruto may have shared a wavelength, but she would never be as comfortable around the subject as he was. Well, maybe if she had been born in this world as a boy…

Never mind. She didn't want to think about that. It was just all kinds of wrong.

" _Stuff._ " Velvet emphasized with a little bit more seriousness press to her lips.

"Ah."

*BRRRIIIIINGGG*

"Nuts- there's the bell. C'mon champ."

"See you guys later!"

They waved back as Velvet hopped away, molding in with the tide of upperclassmen who were headed to another set of classes while Ruby, tucked underneath her sister's arm, meandered on to destinations unknown.

"Blech, history."

"Come on, sis. Professor McGregor isn't so bad."

"Nah, he ain't, but he's off for the week and we've got a substitute. Rumor has it it's that Port guy. Supposed to be a bigshot from Beacon, but I heard from Coco that he just drones on and on."

Ruby giggled as her sister mimicked the action with a hand and an irreverent look twisted on her face.

Too bad, she was beginning to like the young professor, and hoped whatever kept him away was only temporary. Still, if their substitute wasn't worth listening to, she might finally try writing Naruto. She still didn't know exactly what to say to help him, but Velvet gave her a place to start.

The positive effect it had on her was proof that words had potency. She was sure they couldn't completely cleanse the boy's conscious overnight, but knowing that she was feeling the same as he was might inspire him to overcome his hysterical ennui sooner. Funny, how a letter could help rebuild something so thoroughly devastated.

Though it should have been expected, for the pen was mightier than the sword.

* * *

 **So, obviously this chapter is in two parts which is why I am putting the AN here rather than at the top, make sure you guy's don't break halfway through.**

 **I don't want to make a habit of spelling everything out like this, but I know that I am setting a rather brisk pace here, and I want to make sure we're all on the same page.**

 **So Naruto got a mission to clear out 'bandits', and ended up killing a mother of a child, discovering later that these people were just vagrant tribes, analogous to so called 'Gypsies' in real life (Romani, Pikers, whatever the flavor is). If you don't know about them, they are nomadic people who go around in caravans to various places and often squat (camp on land not necessarily theirs). Various reasons for this, a lot having to do with tradition but also being kicked out of their native homes. They have a reputation for partying in excess and having a very open culture, at least within their families. If you want a good glimpse into this life, just watch the movie 'Snatch'.**

 **While I wouldn't necessarily want to live next to such an encampment lest my valuables go missing overnight during one of their late-night carousing, it isn't, in my opinion, worth excess force to get them to move. But clearly this is not the opinion of the Elemental Nations, as you might interpret in a more militaristic setting that these people would be seen as more than a mere irritation (people seem to forget that the Holocaust affected them greatly as well).**

 **Where I live, we don't really have this problem (we have squatters and other eccentrics, but they aren't nearly as prolific), but I am aware that it is an especially touchy concept still to this day, especially with immigration issues on the forefront of everyone's minds. And I don't want to stir up any political discussions here. I am just using this as a device to make the two main characters question the morality of what both of them are doing, and just gain more adult experience.**

 **I am sorry though, I really didn't want to take this story on a dark turn, it just sort of happened that way. I'm not a depressed person (YAY PROZAC!), I just see a lot of the darkness in the world, accept it, and try to make things a little brighter on my own. Luckily all these chapters are short, so we should be getting to Ruby-centric chapters fuller of fluff and cuteness (as best I can write that, anyhow) very soon.**

 **~Abrazos y Bises**


	9. Dramatic Irony

**So, I had intended to get this chapter out some time ago, and I guess that I just… forgot.**

 **Yeah, sorry about that.**

 **As compensation, this short chapter should be followed swiftly by another, hopefully longer one. And plus, the auspicious date gives me a chance to say a few words.**

 **For those of you not in the USA, today is a holiday for us. In deference to the office of the President of the United States, we remember both the great and the not-so-great leaders of our country. And whether or not you like/dislike/despise our current head of state, that is no the point. The point is to celebrate the office, the fact that ANYONE in the USA who is a citizen and over the age of 35 can become the face of one of the strongest nations on Earth. So let's just all get together and remember that, ne? Let this day bring us together, rather than drive us into factions like our first president warned us about so long ago.**

 **And I know this is a gross generalization, and probably a very naïve viewpoint to a lot of you, but let me ask you this: has getting angry about it ever really worked? And which in all honesty do you prefer? I am not afraid to fight tooth and nail for what I believe in, but I for one also prefer to look on the bright side whenever I can. And throughout the darkness that this story passes through, I hope that you can see it too.**

 **Enough with that though, on with something that actually matters.**

* * *

"And… you're sure you're alright?"

"Yeah… no worries."

Naruto gave his Jōnin sensei a weary smile, not trying to make the man nervous but unable to really muster anything more reassuring.

Yamato's expression didn't change, and he didn't remove his hand from Naruto's shoulder. He kept gazing deep into his pupil's abyssal pools, trying to detect any lie behind the flippant words.

It almost made Naruto want to laugh. If only the man knew the truth of what was behind those blue eyes.

"If you are upset with the Hokage or I, do not be afraid to tell us." The man spoke carefully, making it obvious he would not be pursuing sedition charges should the boy wish to complain. "It is perfectly natural to be angry. But you need to acknowledge it now, because a crucial part of being a shinobi is being able to follow orders without questions. If you don't think you can do that, then I need to know now so we can have someone else on the team who will."

The statement may have seemed cold, but Naruto appreciated the forthrightness. He didn't like being 'tricked' like they had been, but he'd had more time to come to terms with it than his peers. Twice as much, in fact, and two different points of view from which to draw from.

"Okay." He said plainly. "Yeah, I'm pissed at you and Jiji." He couldn't resist a smirk when his teacher seemed taken aback by his glib response. "But I understand why you did it. Doesn't mean I agree, but for now I think that I can still trust you. My first priority is my teammates, and I know that you will do what you can to protect us."

It was an oversimplification of how he truly felt. But he couldn't exactly say that he had learned of another world's history which helped put things in perspective. Remnant's cooperative appearance could be scraped away fairly easily to reveal the dark history underneath. And if such a seemingly peaceful world could have such cruel wars and shallow racism, then the Elemental Nations were doing pretty good in comparison.

That still didn't make it just, just a better start than he had a right to hope for.

"Good." Yamato nodded seriously and straightened from his stoop. "I am glad you are taking such a mature view on this. I promise you though, most C-Rank missions won't be this complicated." He wasn't sure Naruto would forgive him if he told the boy he had chosen this one on purpose, though. "On a different matter, I am glad to hear you value your teammates. But saying that and acting upon it are two different things." The man's expression didn't change, and yet there was somehow a hardness which hadn't been there before.

Naruto frowned. "He had it coming."

 _Saying that's not going to help._ Ruby wanted to groan at the petulant response which came so soon after the adult discussion.

"Maybe." He could swear there was a smirk behind the Jōnin's monotone. "I am at least glad you had the prudence to wait until the mission was officially over. However, that still doesn't excuse trading blows with an ally shinobi. And even though the mission was technically over, we were still in an exposed position outside of the village, and it was reckless act at best. You realize your actions could be construed as insubordination and needless endangerment." It was not a question.

Naruto nodded. "Hai. Moushi wake arimasen deshita."*

"Like I've told you before. Save your apologies, just don't do it again."

"Hai. Sensei." He still couldn't help the shit-eating grin when he realized that he wasn't going to get scolded more.

"Don't celebrate too soon." Yamato warned him with a single arched eyebrow. "When you get out of here, you can be sure we'll be going back to a strict regiment of D-Ranks. It doesn't look good on your record to get injured during a normal C-Rank, you know." He also didn't mention the additional exercise he was planning for their team training, figuring that mutual hardship might resolve any lingering issues not smoothed over by the two Genin's showdown.

Naruto groaned, but made it seem like his muscles were still hurting him as he rubbed his chest and arms. In fact, they were hurting him. Neji hadn't pulled any of his punches this time, and he realized the stark difference between those blows and the ones during training.

"I'm going to go visit Neji now. He's just in the room next door. Try not to wander around and start arguing again, would you." It was an order and not a question.

The bedridden boy gave the man a weary wave, knowing that he would soon be bored out of his skull with all the pent-up energy he had and nothing to do. He didn't even have anything to write on, and so Ruby would be as listless as he.

"And in the future," The chocolate eyes flicked to him from the entryway. "try not to let someone's words affect you so much." The door slid shut with a small click before he could respond.

Naruto harrumphed, duffing the wimpy pillow propping up his neck. That was a losing prospect. Words had power, maybe more to him than to others, but it was undeniable.

" _Get your head in the game, Uzumaki. It's meaningless to get upset, she was fated to be part of the mission. We are all bound to our places like this, and death is inevitable in our line of work. If you can't handle this, it would probably be for the best if you just quit now. Don't try and overstep your station and force yourself to do something you can't handle. You'll only get your allies killed like that."_

He listened to Neji. He actually did. But it was when the boy wouldn't listen to him that he needed to prove he was right.

No matter the way it seemed, people born in their places rarely stayed there. If that were not the case, destiny would have had Ruby and him go their whole lives unaware of the other. They would have lived with their own brands of naiveite and innocence, never questioning their uniqueness, their insignificance.

Neji would have said that it was still just destiny controlling their illusion of free will. But Naruto claimed bullshit. That's why he had to set the boy straight.

Whether he had accomplished this goal was yet to be seen, however. He still wasn't sure who had won and who had lost their little bout. The only thing he knew was how much he hurt afterwards, and how much he owed Tenten for dragging his black and blue ass the rest of the way to Konoha.

"Morning, Baka."

Well, now he would get that chance to thank her. Neji would have to wait until later. He was in no hurry.

* * *

"You seem chipper this morning."

Ruby's smile only got brighter at this observation, greeting her brunette friend with a fervent nod. Her sister had noted the same thing over breakfast, taking that as her permission to go hang out with her other friends, leaving the younger girl to walk herself to classes. And for once, the short journey felt lonely, which was why she was grateful that her Faunus friend decided to take the long way around to walk with her.

Velvet was Ruby's Tenten, and she should learn to appreciate the older woman more. One never knew when they would be separated, only that it was inevitable.

"Mm-hm. It's all thanks to you. Thanks again, Vel." Ruby stifled a snicker as the upperclassman reddened in response to the praise.

"Oh, no, that's- I'm sure you would have been just fine on your own. You're a strong girl."

She bowed her head demurely, and Ruby could tell it wasn't just out of embarrassment, but comparison. The two of them might have been about equal in terms of shyness, but for some reason the elder had a persistent self-confidence issue. And this in turn caused her to be seen as weird and introverted by most of the student body.

Probably another one of the reasons they became friends as well.

"Mm. Yeah, you're probably right." She gave the bunny-girl a cheeky grin. "But it would have taken me _ages_ and I would've been an old hag by that time, so I'll still say thanks."

Spying the intersection where she knew she'd have to part from the older girl, Ruby quickly snagged her in a bone-crushing hug, burying her face in Velvet's stomach. She let out a squeak of surprise and her face tried to match Ruby's cloak.

"Thank you for being my friend, Vel. I can't explain how important you are to me."

She really couldn't. It was the same sort of connection with Naruto, and Naruto with Tenten. That mutual feedback-loop which had them running side by side and watching each other's back at the same time. Prodding them on and urging to catch up.

"Hey Squirt. You trying to steal my Bunny from me?" Releasing Velvet to the brunette's relief/disappointment, Ruby found her carelessly applied hairdo mussed up further by a perfectly manicured hand.

"Coco!" Velvet admonished her contemporary as the other woman sauntered over and hooked an arm around her continually abused waist.

The fashionista just grinned behind her sunglasses which reflected Ruby's indignant look. "What's up, Ruby?"

Blowing a stray crimson lock out of her face, the younger girl crossed her arms in a huff and asked accusingly. "I could ask the same. You were gone for two days! Don't tell me you were shopping for all that time?"

Both older girls expressed their chagrin in different ways, and for a different reason other than the dirty looks they were getting from the students which had to flow around them in the middle of the hallway. Velvet wrung her hands together and averted her eyes, disappointed that Ruby had seen through her deliberate omission. And Coco rubbed the back of her head as she realized she'd have to fess up.

"Well, the sale was only on Tuesday. I, uh, kind of got sick afterwards…"

Ruby blinked in the face of the just and self-fulfilling prophecy. Then she broke out laughing.

"It really isn't that funny…" Coco complained.

It really wasn't, and to tell the truth, Ruby didn't know why she found it so. Naruto was probably confused as well, or maybe he could understand and was laughing along with her. There was just something about the truth in lies which she found appropriate, not bothering to understand the details.

Before either two onlookers could question her on it, the bell rang and forced the three of them to stop what they were doing and run in opposite directions, splitting their hands between covering their ears and signing each other frantic waves.

It was just another day, and yet it was always a step forward.

* * *

Naruto always loved watching Ruby spar. It was a far cry from her puttering about as a child. Even as the shortest in all of her classes, she had somehow always managed to have her movements be gangly and uncoordinated as if she were six feet tall. As a toddler she would waddle like a stumbling drunk, and come home from daycare with scraped knees more often than not.

Now she was like poetry in motion- at least in his opinion. And this sentiment was probably shared by quite a few of her current classmates, who despite being a good three years older than her preferred watching from the sidelines while she challenged someone else. Partly so they could better appreciate the ballerina-like movements honed by many months of training with her Uncle, and partly so they could stay out of the way of the girl's partner.

By the first week in the semester, everyone knew _Crescent Rose's_ name.

Her _other_ partner couldn't begrudge her any of this. The girl deserved every inch of recognition she got for both her moves and her weapon, having forged both of them with many, many hours of hard work. He couldn't be jealous of her capabilities any longer because he now knew where they came from and derived pleasure knowing he had a hand in their creation.

So now, instead of feeling the rush of battle as one might when in that vantage, heart pumping, palms sweating, stomach flinching at every close call; Instead, he was keen to simply sit back and enjoy the ride.

And now he would only flinch in sympathy for whichever poor sap had to go against her. More often than not, this happened to be her elder sister who was the only one foolhardy enough to get set up for defeat time and again. And, the one who was admittedly the chief reason Ruby came home from preschool with so many boo-boos. There was a healthy rivalry there which even theirs couldn't compete against.

And Yang had become a specialist in fighting Ruby, winning almost enough matches to maintain her spot as top two in her class, and losing enough to compensate for all the aforementioned scraped knees.

But, sadly, this time it was not a match-up against her sister, and as usual an expected disappointment. Though the other teen had admittedly given a good showing, things had been over far too soon.

Even with the younger girl forcing her peers to keep up with her, constantly pushing the class to be one of the undisputed best in Signal's history, the student gene pool had become stagnant, and Ruby learned to defeat every one of their planned counters to her moves.

For that, it helped to have an outside observer to all of her matches. One calm enough to watch with a critical eye and point out where either she, or they, went wrong.

They were each other's coaches and strategists. They didn't consider it cheating because it took a long time to get to that point, and was guesswork more often than not. They both improved independently at each role, slowly gleaning more and more with every experience and every minute spent around veteran warriors such as Ruby's father, uncle, or Naruto's sensei.

This match didn't last long enough to get good data, however. Ruby knew she could not win a battle of attrition with the larger boy and so had to end things as soon as possible. Which for her meant judicious use of her semblance, and letting her weapon do the talking.

As her da- _Professor_ Taiyang- both boy and girl had to correct themselves, led the poor, dazed chap back to his seat, Ruby was gently accosted by hearty bellow of laughter.

"Ho, ho, ho! That was quite a showing, Ms. Rose." Ruby blinked, as like Santa Claus the man appeared without a sound. It didn't help that he had the St.'s catchphrase and robust figure, either.

Stifling her disappointment when she realized Christmas had already come and gone, Ruby turned with a bright eye towards the new substitute teacher.

"Thank you, Mr. Port." She sketched a small curtsy and inclined her weapon closer to the hearty man. "I wish I could have let a bit more of _Crescent Rose_ show, though. I didn't even get to use her rifle function."

"My, my, and she is an impressive weapon. Is she the one Signal requires you to forge for yourself?"

Happy as always to talk about herself as long as it wasn't about _herself_ , Ruby placed the scythe in between the two and let the man admire her from a safe distance.

"Mm-hm. I did almost all of the design and forge work myself with advice from Professor Taiyang. Only a few of her more intricate parts had to be farmed out, like the collapsing rifle bolt." On that note the weapon folded in on itself into a tidy little package which she hastily stowed in an equally custom holster on the small of her back.

"Mm, yes, I can see why you must be very proud, and protective of her." He said while scratching his chin, offhandedly referencing the almost dismissive manner which she hid it away.

Ruby managed a small blush and shuffled the dirt with her foot but did not make to deny her quirks. Luckily for her, Professor Port didn't seem to mind this. Though that might have been because he was after something else.

"Speaking of having pride, you remind me of a young, equally dashing and gallant young person….me!"

Neither personality could wrap themselves around what to make of **that** statement.

"Why, I remember a time- ahem, well, plenty of time for that tale when you're in my class." The stout man adjusted himself when he noticed the sparring professor giving him an evil eye for syphoning off his student's time.

"Um, your class? But wasn't today your last day?" God, she hoped it was.

"Ah, yes, alas 'tis so as far as Signal is concerned- at least until another teacher gets sick and they need to find a last-minute replacement!" Ruby saw her father eavesdropping on her conversation and making a big X with his arms, letting her know that this would not be a likely outcome. "But I shall undoubtedly continue on with my normal schedule at Beacon Academy and be there when you matriculate on up!"

"Beacon?" Honestly, in the man's unbecoming ramblings she had forgotten the prevailing rumor. "You… teach at Beacon." She tried not to make it sound like a question.

"Oh, ho! But of course! I am also quite good friends with the headmaster, Professor Ozpin, and I will certainly be sure to inform him of Signal's up and coming crop of students. I am sure he would be **most** interested in hearing about you, Ms. Rose."

So enthralled was she with the prospect of going to Beacon that she almost missed the oddness of the man singling her out the entire student body. As if to cover this slip, or else distract her further from her jurisprudence, Professor Port continued with his reminiscing whilst eagerly twirling his snowy white mustache.

"Yes, indeed, I too was most excited to learn that a daughter of **the** Summer Rose was said to be attending Signal- and at so youthful and age!"

"Mother?"

The moment that subject was brought up Ruby became myopic, tuning out everything else including her father who had gone back to conducting class despite her absence and shooting her furtive glances every spare chance he got.

"Mm, yes, Summer Rose was quite the exceptional huntress, I can tell you are going to follow closely in her footsteps."

She wasn't to know quite how soon this prophecy would be fulfilled, however.

Port would blather on for another good fifteen minutes, making it so she had to grovel to her father for a note to her next class. Nothing he said would be as startling as that first back and forth, and he would never mention Ruby's mother again during that visit. But still, she would hang off every word he said just in case he let something slip.

Though the fatuous man talked on and on about the different qualities and programs Beacon offered while Ruby listened, Naruto sat quietly in the wings with more detachment and skepticism wrapped around him like an iron blanket.

In the beginning, Ruby and he had shared the passage of the day side by side. But as their personalities grew apart, they began to notice different things, ranked importance on different matters and so accelerated their split. After they became fully aware of the other person inside their head, they realized that it would be far more beneficial to observe the things that the other **wasn't** paying attention to.

So while the mention of Ruby's mother was a distraction enough to unbalance the both of them, Naruto knew he had to keep a sharp wit about him. And through supreme force of will, he managed to remain detached from the emotions flying around like squawking parakeets, and instead focused on the man's strange words.

He was leading Ruby. Baiting her. Trying to get her to come to Beacon.

Which was fine. He knew the Old Man did the same to him, dangling the carrot of Hokage to get him to study more. And besides, Beacon is where they- where she wanted to end up, anyway.

But such a fortuitous meeting set off alarm bells in his mind. Was it really a coincidence that Port happened to be a substitute teacher that week? Did the headmaster really scope out all potential recruits this early, or did he suspect something more with Ruby?

Or was he looking too much into it? Remnant was a small place- even smaller than the Elemental Nations if that could be believed. Population penned into just four small enclaves- five if you counted Menagerie, with a handful of other successful settlements outside of the walls. Everyone tended to know everyone in the shinobi world as well, so it wasn't exactly that strange for the de facto ruler of a nation to keep an eye out for potential recruits.

Was it?

Either way, neither of them would be forgetting Professor Port anytime soon.

* * *

 **I will rarely translate anything that I write, because when I use foreign words it's for the atmosphere and you should be able to figure them out on your own based on context. In case you couldn't tell Naruto is apologizing PROFUSELY (means a lot) to Yamato. This is the kind of apology used if you run over someone's puppy, so it might be too much here. But I just had to use it recently, so it's worth knowing.**

 **Anyway, life goes on. Still hammering away at what I can. Yeah, this chapter goes back into my more detailed style a bit, but that is to be expected as we move forward to events that actually matter. Though it might irk some of you, I want to get to the point where Ruby isn't just a 'side character', i.e. when she goes to Beacon (if, muwahahaha!). *Ahem*, so the next few chapters might go pretty fast. We'll see.**

 **As always, thanks for the reviews, and I will continue on my policy of answering questions only for now, despite the fact that I feel each of you deserve a hand-written response for your effort. Instead, that focus will go to producing more.**

 **~Cordialement**


	10. Hero's Journey: Threshold

"So, those are my classmates, huh?"

"The ones able to pass the Genin exam, yes."

Naruto glanced to his left but didn't say anything in reply. Neji was still staring intently at the half-full classroom, but Naruto knew he could see him too. He allowed a small smile to play across his face and turned back to the same view, hoping to catch something of use even without the venerated Byakugan allowing him to peer past the glaring windows.

It had been a rocky reunion. In fact, Naruto still wasn't sure where he stood with the other boy. Social relationships were still confusing for him. So rather than question it too heavily, he just accepted the other boy back into his life and waited to see how things progressed between them.

They could at least agree on certain things, like wanting to know more about their future allies/competition. Neji had always been serious about being a shinobi, but now seemed more amenable to other people's suggestions. He still might not have possessed 'the Will of Fire', but Naruto would be confident to have the boy next to him in battle.

Still, he'd likely give his right arm to have Yang by his side.

"Feeling nostalgic?" Naruto grimaced and shewed the hand away that was ruffling his hair.

"Not in your dreams."

His rebellious smirk was reflected back at him- upside down from the girl who had stuck herself on the bottom of a tree branch. She always got a kick out of teasing him, and he her, even if she didn't know it. Though Ruby had once confided in him that particular private joke was worse than some of Yang's.

Regardless, he accepted it as a part of him like his other verbal tick, and Ruby just had to get used to that difference.

Just as she would have to get used to the fact that they both lived in dangerous worlds where they needed every advantage they could gain. Ruby's trial by fire would come soon enough, but Naruto needed to be aware of the situation day to day. Yamato had shown them the first few pages of his so called "Bingo Book"- enough to scare them into paranoia. Already taking their own training seriously, they redoubled their efforts. And now they were also concerned with their potential allies, making sure they knew who to trust, and who could not be relied upon when it came down to it.

"Did I really look _that_ weak?" Naruto commented, scrunching his nose in general to the crowd indoors. In particular a couple of kunochi who were nothing but twigs.

Not that Ruby _wasn't_ petit, but he doubted those girls were hiding a quarter-ton weapon in their training bras.

"No, you were much more pathetic looking."

Neji delivered the line with such blasé that Naruto hung there in suspended disbelief until the barest of smiles creeped out the corner of his mouth.

"Dick." He shot back, expecting Ruby to remember and reprimand him in her next 'diary entry'.

But Ruby wasn't actually paying attention so much to the near-friendly repartee evolving between the two teammates. Instead, she was focusing on the same gaggle of teens the three were spying on. Her thoughts on the group were not that different from Naruto's, finding their appearance alone to be uninspiring. She also could not help but make an unflattering comparison between herself and a girl with bright pink hair, whom Naruto sneered at.

They knew by now that they shouldn't make generalities, and certainly not judge books by their cover. But it was still hard not to.

Beyond first impressions, there was a nostalgia on her part that she couldn't quite explain. Like she was feeling the emotion vicariously for Naruto, whom she could feel truly did not hold an attachment for his former peers.

Unlike her, he had been lucky and grouped with people only a class ahead of his own. Not shunted with teenagers bordering on adulthood. They were so far removed from her that she often wondered if they were even the same species. Forget Humans and Faunus, she would become the new black sheep all on her own. She felt alien.

She had Velvet, though, and Coco, and Yang, but even they often did things which made little sense to her. Even if it was just a normal part of being a kid-borderline-teen amongst teen-borderline-adults, it did not stop her from feeling out of place and longing for a likeminded companion she didn't have to talk to through correspondence. She found herself wishing she could have grown up side by side with Naruto, rather than on top of him.

"YOSH!"

Both of them were broken from their separate concentrations when a jolly green meteor eclipsed the sun.

"GAAH! LEE! What are you doing here?!"

Tenten had fallen off her perch and Ruby was fairly certain that Naruto's near-heart attack had transferred over to her sleeping body (or however that worked, they hadn't figured out yet). The only one keeping a straight face being the Hyῡga prodigy. But then again, the boy managed to look dignified even with a swollen and bleeding lip (Tenten had snatched a picture of that before dragging her teammate back to the hospital).

"Why, I am here for the same reason you are, my Eternal Rivals!" The spandex-wearing martial artist yelled, oblivious to the fact that the three shinobi had been trying to conceal themselves. "To see the next batch of Youthful graduates to enter the ranks of Konoha's shinobi force, and to wish them luck in their trials ahead!"

"You know they're not suppose to know about the second exam, right?" Naruto said, taking advantage of his vibrating eardrums to remove some of the wax that had been dislodged. "Besides," he grumbled, adjusting himself to a more leisurely position on the tree branch. "I bet you're really just here to challenge me or Neji again, right?"

"What a Youthful suggestion!" Neji, and by now Tenten who had picked herself up off the forest floor, glared at their third member murderously. "But alas, no. Gai-sensei only allowed me until noon to observe my potential fellows, and I fear that any serious spar between us would take far longer than that."

"Yeah… that's a shame" Two audible sighs of relief said otherwise.

"We will just have to settle the score another time! Perhaps I could talk to your instructor and organize another group train-"

"Hey! Yeah! That sounds like a great idea! But I'll tell you what, right now Yamato-sensei's out of town, and we actually have to get going. Neji promised to treat us all to ramen in celebration for our return to active duty!"

Though he looked like he was swallowing a bug, the white-eyed boy made no move to confirm or deny this statement in leu of the alternative.

"Soo…. Yeah, bye!"

With that he grabbed ahold of his teammate's shoulders and the three of them disappeared in a vortex of crimson leaves, leaving a frazzled but awe-inspired Lee who was clutching his fist with a tear in his eye.

"My Eternal Rivals… so cool!"

* * *

 _Dear Ruby,_

 _I can tell the Port guy upset you, but try not to let it bother you too much. Though it is nice that we have someone else to tell us about Summer now, since Taiyang-dad doesn't want to, I am still a little worried about it becoming a distraction._

 _I know, I know, you don't have to remind me I'm being hypocritical. I also don't have to remind you I miss her too. Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but I guess that's my job now. Maybe because that guy Ozpin seems so much like Jiji, don't you think? Anyway, I just want you to have a clear path towards your dream, without anything to spoil it._

 _We both have a long and hard path ahead of us. I hope you'll still look out for me the same. I promise not to get annoyed, even if you nag. But just remember that it's never just you fighting out there. And it isn't just your dream, it's ours._

 _Yours Always,_

 _N._

* * *

Why did Ruby's life have to be so boring that she always focused on Naruto's day instead of her own? She was sitting in her classroom and was supposed to be reading a lesson on the history of the All-Kingdom Information Neutrality Decree*, but instead she found herself staring fuzzily at the daunting block of text and remembering the look on each of the fresh Genin's faces as they looked to the head of their own classroom like they had the whole world ahead of them.

Had she- and by she, meant Naruto, looked like that? So eager and naïve? It always felt like the two of them had been happy, if only by virtue of having each other to fall back on. But never unaware. Never childish in the sense that those children were.

Except for one. And that was the one she couldn't get out of her head. Unlike them, and unlike the other Genin, this boy was neither childish nor happy. But neither was he content.

He was different, an island of calm in a sea of elation. She had always held hope of finding another one like them. She rejected the conclusion that she and Naruto were unique in the universe. But she quickly dismissed the raven-haired boy as a possibility.

He was too sad. Too full of hate. Not like them at all.

For who could be unhappy when they were never alone? Who could be cynical when one realized that life always brought misery, but also joy?

It was enough to pinch her nerves anyway, and she vowed to mention him in her next letter.

* * *

"So what did Portly want the other day?"

Though she didn't bat an eyelash at her sister's obvious yet appropriate nickname for their brief substitute teacher, nonetheless Ruby blinked at the feeling of Déjà vu the topic brought on.

You'd think she'd be used to that feeling by now.

"Not sure exactly." She shrugged, feeling the weight of books shift on her back.

"Oh?" Yang asked, feigning disinterest.

In fact, the blonde was not that interested beyond the fact the man was from Beacon. She was asked to 'interrogate' her sister by her father. That meant she would give a token effort at it to assuage the over-protective man's feelings.

"So he doesn't think that my sister's some kind of super-huntress and wants to whisk you away right now to study at his prestigious school?" She continued with fake indignity, clutching a hand to her heart and pulling her sister closer to her. "*Sigh*, it seems you'll just have to plod along with us 'slow-learners' for a few more years then, huh?"

Ruby grumbled but didn't try to escape the embrace which threw her off-balance. Even though her sister was using a teasing tone with her now, the topic was always a sore spot with the younger girl. She still held a sneaking suspicion that Yang was truly envious of her rapid progress.

But she had not lived as long as Ruby had. She had not gone through the toil and the pain which came with that separate existence. If she had, would she have emerged that same, bubbly and confident woman she was blossoming into? No, Ruby was the only one envious there.

"Meh, Professor Port talked almost as much about himself as he did me."

"Eew, you think he's some kind of perv or something?"

"No, I really don't want to, thanks."

Instead she continued to think about that other boy in Naruto's class. She had dismissed the possibility that he was like her and Naruto, and she still felt that way. But wasn't it possible? Their life thus far had not been easy, she would not deny that. They had come out of it with a greater appreciation for what they had. But would everyone be so optimistic?

Was it not possible that people could experience the same thing and come to different conclusions?

The net of thoughts she was weaving herself came untied when something warm buried itself into her scalp.

"You know how proud of you I am, right?" Yang asked as she nuzzled the top of Ruby's head with her nose, arm wrapping around her tighter and driving the late-Winter chill away.

The two stopped on their walk home, pausing on the path which was freshly covered in a light layer of snow. New flakes still trickled down from the tree tops to cover their footprints behind them. But even if they were to stand there until the snow reached their knees, they would still be able to find their way home in that endless drift.

The honesty in the words, the beautiful truth. If someone didn't have that, would anything seem as real? Would they be able to feel the warmth of the afternoon sun filtering through pine needles, or would they only feel the chill of the snow and ice?

Maybe the difference between optimism and doubt was smaller than she thought, maybe it was but a small act of kindness which set them apart. Flicker of light guiding them in the right direction.

She never thought about it, but Naruto was right. Their goals were the same, to be the guiding light for others to follow.

"Yeah, I know."

* * *

Winter would melt away to become spring, spring drying to become summer. Time would pass once again, unstoppable and impossible to quantify for those two intertwined souls.

For everyone else it would be less than half a year. Five months of working towards an arbitrary deadline, the next checkpoint in their lives which they could then look back and take stock of what they had accomplished.

This would appear to be pitifully little in the eyes of our two principle characters. As time for them passed both frustratingly slow and blindingly fast. But this was again because they measured this progress with their own units, unable to compare themselves to other people in their lives as they took the steps two at a time.

They would eventually get lucky and have their chance to measure themselves against a worthy barometer.

If it indeed could be considered luck.

Neither Ruby nor Naruto felt particularly lucky in their respective situations. Although, had she been able to write to him, she might have pointed out that this was **exactly** the kind of luck the blond should be used to by now. She bemoaned that his fickle fortune was finally bleeding over into her existence as well.

But the two of them had no time to spare to write long missives back and forth. Both were too entrapped in their own crisis to be of much help to the other. And all the times when they should have been resting, they instead spent worrying about their other halves while otherwise helpless to do anything.

For once, they were on their own.

Of course, they were not truly on their own. Naruto had his team to account for him, and Ruby in turn had her fellow students running the gambit alongside. But in the heat of the moment, it was more often that they would have to depend on their own abilities to survive, rather than one of their comrades to come bail them out.

But, perhaps it is better to begin this side-tale before this point of no return.

* * *

The start of Naruto's side of the episode could have begun the moment they were handed their second C-Rank mission. Even though there was nothing to tell them that anything was amiss with the task itself, there was a sense of foreboding that none of them could shake. Maybe it could have been because of their first C-Rank had ended on such a bad note, but this was a totally different objective than the first. An escort mission.

The moment after they left the mission office to go meet their client, they passed by another team moving in the opposite direction. And mirrored to Naruto's blond-haired, blue-eyed optimism was that dark-haired, dour young man with eyes black as coal which sparked with a fiery red ember.

He recognized the boy from that day and Ruby's note which singled him out. But whatever higher message he was supposed to get out of their brief trading of stares was lost as the moment passed by in a flash. Naruto's team continued down the hall to round up their patron and hurry him back to his home in Wave.

It was like Ruby's déjà vu, but in reverse. Like he was supposed to see or do something, but felt only emptiness behind him.

* * *

The beginning of Ruby's vignette is more difficult to place. She had known about the 'field trip' since the start of the semester and had kept it in the back of her mind until the day itself arrived. So it wasn't anything new. When it arrived, she accepted it casually. Even though it was their first 'official' hunting trip, it would not be the first time she had christened _Crescent Rose_ with the blood of Grimm.

They would gear up with three-day packs full of everything needed to survive in the untamed wilderness outside of Vale. Then they would depart the school in flotilla of small fishing vessels which would take them close to the point where they would begin their excursion. Throughout this long process, nothing seemed amiss. Velvet and Coco had already related their breezy experience the previous year, and her sister seemed openly excited about the prospect of getting to really 'let loose' in an open space instead of the highly monitored school setting.

It was probably that both Naruto and Ruby were excited for one another that they failed to miss the warning signs.

* * *

"That puddle probably shouldn't be there, huh?"

Naruto was whispering mainly to himself, or perhaps Ruby, even though she probably spotted it before him. But it was Neji on his right who did anything about it. The very second after he activated his bloodline was when the story began its descent.

It was a brilliant day late in Spring which the two Mist-shinobi decided to ambush them. Naruto was feeling particularly confident, despite the fact that they had torn Yamato-sensei into shreds within seconds. His adrenaline exploded upon seeing the glittering chains snake through the air. His brain latching onto that familiar sight and kickstarting his excitement.

Though they were connected to the enemy's gauntlets, they might as well have been his weapons instead of theirs. He clamped onto them and heaved the two linked strands towards his center with their owners in tow. The Chunin disconnected them before they were sucked into the surprisingly strong whirlpool, but were not prepared for the boy to attack them with their own tools.

He ignored whatever threat they shouted at him, leaving the words for Ruby to decipher. Naruto only had eyes and ears open for combat as he flashed towards one of their attackers. He figured Neji could handle the other easily enough and he saw Tenten had already moved to a defensive position in front of Tazuna.

Neither Naruto nor Ruby was very tall, and this often worked to their advantage when it came to battling elder, more experienced opponents. The blond Genin ducked underneath the massive gauntlet swipe by the cloaked figure and used one of the two chains he had borrowed to hogtie the man's legs. As the he began to topple over from his lunge, Naruto sprung up from his crouch with an uppercut that might have shattered the man's jaw.

But Naruto did not want to leave any question in a matter of life and death. As much as he didn't like to kill, he also didn't want the man to be a further threat to his team. As the shinobi's head jerked back from the blow, exposing the rather long neck, Naruto took the second chain and wrapped it around that fleshy post. Landing behind his enemy, he then jerked the chain down to the ground, dragging the man with it and smashing the soft back of his skull against the hardpacked road.

The battle- more of a skirmish really, was over in little over twice the time it took the two to execute their ambush. Yamato appeared moments after the second shinobi was brutally dealt with by a Gentle-Fist strike to the heart.

The adults had words. Tense words. In the end, the sentence came to them to deliver. Would they continue on with the mission, or would they do the prudent thing and go back home?

Naruto wasn't scared of death. His death. He was afraid of what would happen to the one seeing things through his eyes, though. Was death in a dream the same as real life? Could either of them really exist without the other? That was a thought he didn't want to entertain, but had to on repeated occasions since his line of work mandated it.

He didn't want to needlessly put Ruby's existence in danger and was inclined to pass. But doing so was without a doubt certain death for Tazuna, and the rest of his family if the man wasn't lying about that too. What would she want him to do?

They had never fathomed to put other's lives above their own.

He already knew the answer.

* * *

"Boy, those clouds sure rolled in fast."

The sky changed from a bright and sunny day in Fire Country to a gloomy overcast. A Spring storm fast approaching from nowhere like they always did that time of year. Ruby tried not to let Naruto's dilemma occupy her mind, but this was of little use and the weather only served to exacerbate her gloom.

"Meh, cheer up Sis, a little rain never hurt anyone."

It wasn't rain she was worried about, but her sister's words rang true. She couldn't afford to be upset and distracted when Grimm were afoot. Plus, she didn't have an excuse. Seeing as Yang chose to tag along with her rather than her usual friends, she ought to be ecstatic. She was sure it was just because her sister was being overprotective like her father, but she would take the company where she could get it.

They would be 'downriver' from where the Grimm spawned. Like a watershed, there was no single breeding ground, and the soulless beasts simply trickled down into this relative bottleneck in the mountains south of Vale. They would be funneled together in the few passes which afforded travel out of the wilderness, and that would be where the teams would wait.

It was the perfect opportunity to train young huntsmen and huntresses to deal with both the most juvenile creatures, as well as the natural dangers they might face. The weather was typically unpredictable in this high elevation and season. In fact, one was harder pressed not to slip off the mountain rather than be taken down by a pup Beowulf or suckling Boarbatusk.

In other words, it should have been a cakewalk.

But cake was sweet, and implied a warm, comfortable kitchen surrounded by celebration of loved ones. The rain was bitter, and as Ruby cinched up her hood to prevent the pebble-sized droplets from stoning her head, she could hardly see her brilliantly blonde sister in all of this precipitation.

And it was cold.

"Yang! We should probably head back to camp, now!"

There might have been a reply, but the girl couldn't hear it past her chattering teeth and the howling wind. She tried to imagine how Naruto would feel in the same situation. He had a higher than average body heat, and so she pretended that feeling in order to stay warm.

"Yang?!" She called out again, but there was no answer.

"Damn it!"

Though the words were again drowned out by the constant pelting, she could taste their dirtiness on her lips and figured Naruto could too. But he wouldn't be reprimanding her like she would him. He was likely swearing up a storm to rival the one outside anyway.

She began to dart back and forth frantically, not sure if it was better to stay still or continue searching but knew that if she did not move she would likely freeze. She couldn't think, and so tried to imagine herself as the callous shinobi in her head, partially numb to the experience.

It worked slightly. But all of the things she knew she should do in this situation didn't seem to apply. She couldn't tell where she had last seen her sister, and any signs which might have shown her the way were already washed downhill by the streaming rain. Grimm wouldn't be the only thing flowing through the mountains that night, and she would have to add flash floods to her list of hazards to watch out for.

"Yang! Yang! Where are you?!"

Even though she was fairly certain that she could backtrack to the main Signal encampment, she wasn't sure if it was better to go get help in this case. Normally people could survive for several hours at least in this near freezing environment, but they were overdue for dinner and neither of the girls were the most 'famine resistant' among their class anyway. Their in-shape but fat-deficient physique meant that they would suffer from hypothermia quicker than an adult would without calories to burn. Aura was good at blocking out physical trauma, but not very efficient at retaining body heat.

And it was getting dark.

She blocked out the enticing thought of a nice steaming hot bowl of ramen which was not in the cards tonight.

If only she knew some kind of Jutsu which could help her locate someone's Aura. But she knew she had to work with what she had. Which, admittedly, wasn't much at the moment. Hell, Zwei wasn't a bad tracking dog, but even he would have a hard time finding Yang in this downpour.

"Think, Ruby. Think…" And while she thought, she kept moving. Farther and farther away from the plateau where they hoped to ambush Grimm traveling in the valley below. And farther still from the path back to camp where there were sure to be people worried about the two of them.

Mired in her internal crisis, she wasn't paying enough attention to where she was placing her feet and suddenly found herself face-down in the mud.

Her main thought was of her weapon, making sure that none of the dirt was about to clog the system before she focused on herself. Apart from looking more like a poorly-formed mud-clone, she was alright. But it was what had tripped her that got her attention.

An orange scarf.

She pulled the limp cloth from around her ankle, trying to make it out past the monotony of mud caking it and her. There might have been blood on it, the jagged holes might not have been from her stumble. She couldn't tell in this insufferable rain.

But it was Yang's. Of that she was certain.

But from where? She was at the top of an arête where the peak smoothed down into a path. One direction lead up to the cornice and a long succession of trail which hugged the side of a perilous drop, and the other direction went down into a wash which discharged into the Vale sea.

Left or right. Water flowed downhill, but it didn't necessarily follow that her sister was swept away by the deluge.

She stood shakily and was about to head off downhill, when she paused and looked down at her filthy boots to see what had really tripped her up.

"Right." She tied the rag around her leg and turned to her left. "The path less traveled it is."

She headed on up the mountain towards the jagged horn which stood like Sauron's Tower gazing down on her. Never did she turn her head to look back at the massive pawprint whose claws pointed in that same direction.

* * *

 *** AKIND, just a little joke with the depressing news that Net-Neutrality has been shot down. For those of you arguing over politics, this is what you should really be worried about. Control of you internet is a bipartisan issue, and effects everyone with an online connection.**

 **A couple of Geologic terms just now. Arête: in French, a stop, means basically the ridgeline of a mountain, but has more implied than that. Horn: Same thing, just the tippy-top (think Matterhorn). Geology is like learning another language. Helpful for describing scenery, though. Plus, it can be fun to say. Heh, heh… haboob. Cleavage. Thrust-fault.**

 **Anyway….**

 **So yeah… Wave arc. It's unavoidable. As is Sasuke, which is the main reason for these two chapters and the next one. Like I said before, I intend to get through these as quickly as I can, but it still should be fun to play with some of the timing in this while I lead Ruby on her extracurricular adventure. I didn't really intend to do too much AU in this, at least not at first. But seeing as how I wanted to start from when they were born, I obviously have to make up some backstory for Ruby to get her to where she needs to go.**

 **In case you haven't notice so far, she is already on the fast track to Beacon, kind of like how Itachi was in the Academy. So rather than it being a 'complete surprise' when she gets accepted at the tender age of 15, now she is pretty much lined up for it. And of course, this means that Ozpin's plans might be going into fruition sooner than he expected.**

 **Why isn't Naruto on this same meteoric rise (sticklers for words, I know, I am using this wrong, but correctly in is misuse)? Because he was already only a year or so from graduating, and even though he had Ruby for some of that, he was without teachers to physically help him. So now we should see some progress. But alas, not the exponential type he gets with Shadow-clones because he obviously hasn't learned that…yet. (although I'd really hate to speculate what kind of mental trauma that would do to someone ALREADY sharing a mind, so maybe it'll stay this way?)**

 **As always, I quit writing the AN and get back to the important stuff. Thanks y'all for sticking with me thus far.**


	11. Anecdotal

**Man, while I am probably more tired than ever before, I still say it was totally worth it to go to the concert.**

 **Not that any of you care about that in particular, but maybe it will help me get more written with some inspiring illumination. Of course, all of your words of encourangement do that well enough already. You guys are great.**

 **To the guest, I still didn't explicitly say that I wasn't going to have him use the shadow clones. But also, seriously, why is there this section of the fanfiction world which has an insatiable need for a ridiculously powerful main character? They can't have flaws, can't be slow to gain their power, and absolutely must be the strongest person in the story. Sorry, but that's not me, and I don't think I'll ever write something like that. I am not clever enough to make it into something like One Punch Man, so it would ultimately be a useless gesture copying the drivel that everyone else puts out.**

 **Anyway. Enough of that. Now then...**

 **START WEARING PURPLE, FOR ME NOW!**

* * *

"Tell me… what makes you strong?"

* * *

It was a hard climb. It would have been just as hard under normal circumstances, but it was now near impossible with the sideways rain which was trying to knock her off the mountain.

Still, she could tell she was headed in the right direction when the mud gave way to rock, and the rock gave way to claw marks gouging deep gashes which provided her good footholds to press on ever higher up the steep slope. She had _Crescent Rose_ deployed for balance, the massive weapon keeping her grounded, and if need be, a lifeline which she could catch herself.

She would call out again and again every few feet until her throat was raw. But there was still no reply from her sister, or anything besides the roaring weather.

The rough path would veer just under the crest and run parallel a sheer cliff face. Amazingly, the trail seemed to be incised into the granite itself, and the overhang would provide some shelter. She quickly sprinted the last few meters to the top and arrived in a huffing, shivering mess. Though out of the rain, she would not find much comfort even then.

She moved her hand off the rock to uncover a bloody patch which had not come from her.

"Oh-no."

Forbearing of cold and fatigue, she darted off down the meandering path. All the while trying hard not to look over the perilous edge.

* * *

His eyes fluttered, still not quite awake.

"I'm sorry?"

The girl gave him a patient smile.

"I asked you what makes you strong. What drives you to push yourself so hard?"

Naruto smiled and sat up on his haunches, looking blurrily at the herbs she was picking.

"I want to protect my friends… the people precious to me."

He looked her in the eyes and his sincerity made her cheeks match the pink dress she was wearing.

"I see…"

She went back to picking herbs. Naruto watched her delicate hands pluck the roots gently at the base. Ruby noticed the callouses on her hands, so similar to her own.

"Then you are truly strong, aren't you?"

"Yeah," Naruto rubbed his chest and turned his gaze inwards. "I guess I am."

* * *

The rain was so thick on the other side that it felt like she was running through a tunnel. She must have gone a good mile and had yet to see another sign that her sister had come this way. She began to consider that she might have gone the wrong direction, but then the path veered inward suddenly and, she slipped in her haste. She had to quickly use her Semblance to avoid falling off the side of the mountain.

The shockwave from her jump billowed away the rain in front and behind her. And in that abrupt empty space, a face appeared.

A horrible, bony, beaked face.

The Gryphon squawked and roared all in one, and the sound blew the cold out of her. She braked hard, spun around to confront the beast even as it snapped at her with that rock-crushing jaw. She jerked _Crescent Rose_ out of the way and slapped the creature upside the head before dropping to a knee and taking aim.

If she had been but a little bit stronger, she might have dazed it long enough to get a clean shot. But as soon as the beast saw her line up her sights, it pulled back behind the curtain of water flowing over the side of the mountain.

She fired anyway, hoping that the near-point-blank range wouldn't give it enough time to dodge. The bullet made a slight tear in the watery shroud, but she could hear it echo out into the valley below and knew she had just wasted a bullet. Turning on her heel, she kept running. There was still a chance that Yang was out there ahead of her, and she couldn't just turn back.

Her gait was just fast enough to avoid the beak snapping at the cloak trailing behind her. It occurred to her that the Gryphon probably had a clear view of her shadow passing along the path. While she on the other hand hadn't any idea where it was going to strike next.

Again, a water-Jutsu would be really awesome right about then!

Or the Byakugan, or wall-walking, or an earth technique which would wall her off from the ornery chimera.

But she only had herself. And _Crescent Rose_.

A claw, her match in size and strength, burst through the veil and she threw herself down onto the rock as it swept blindly over her. She was pushing herself back up when it suddenly reversed direction, and she instead summersaulted into the air above it. But she also forgot that she was in a partially-enclosed space, and halfway through her flip she hit the ceiling.

Bounced like a ping-pong ball from hard rock to equally hard rock, she ended up back on the roughly hewn footpath. The angry roar of the Gryphon already dwarfed the endless rain. She quickly tried to get up again-perhaps too quickly as her extended fatigue caught up to her and she stumbled back onto the floor which was now slick with the rain being dragged in by the groping talons.

The Gryphon chose then to make another go at her. The gaping beak sprung forth and had every intention of swallowing her whole down that bottomless black pit. Too unbalanced to take a swing at it, she instead got lucky as it made to clamp down on her and instead got a mouth full of scythe.

 _Crimson Rose_ held marvelously under the strain, but the same could not be said for the more fragile girl. The Gryphon jerked its head back and forth viciously, trying to dislodge the toothpick which had become wedged in its mouth and dragging Ruby along for the ride.

After enough back and forth her flailing legs caught on a foothold, she hung on to her weapon and pulled with all her might. Her strength increased ten-fold when she had enough presence of mind to enshroud her muscles in Aura which did the pushing and pulling for her. But she would simply never be as strong as people like her sister, and even _she_ might not have been able to best this fearsome beast.

At first its head jerked forward in surprise, but it quickly grew indignant with its prickly meal and withdrew its beak with more strength than Ruby could possibly hope to muster. And it pulled her out into the abyss.

It whipped her back and forth over empty air, the ground so far beneath it might as well not have been there. But still she clung on, waiting for her chance to use her semblance and escape. Each thrash was a skip in her heart as she felt her weapon loose its hold, promising freedom from its clutches, but also terrifying freefall.

The moment of release came, and her stomach dropped. But she pushed through that nauseating feeling and dredged up that familiar joy, that absolute and comforting warmth which came when Aura touched every cell in her body and her Semblance accelerated her past the bonds of gravity.

She flew.

But like her bullet before her, she missed the passageway and ended up on the rock face. Vertical, with nothing below to support her. Gravity seemed to mock her, giving her hope and let her hang hundreds of meters above the ground, and one or two above the Gryphon. For all of a second. The it came rushing back and she fell.

Facing the wrong way to use her Semblance again, she looked into the ravenous and irate face of the Grimm which had just now relocated its flighty prey. She screamed.

But it was less of a scream and more of a war cry as she swung _Crescent Rose_ along with her as she went down, down, down. The Grimm didn't have time to register what hit it as the scythe passed cleanly through its head, its beady red eyes blinking owlishly back at its own body before it dissolved to become one with the downpour.

As did Ruby. As she continued to fall, the petals mixed with raindrops and saturated her even when she quit her speed. Throat already horse from before, she didn't stop her yell as it gave her renewed energy and desire to live. Following through on her swing, she twisted in the air and sunk her blade deep into the rock, crying out with the fits and starts as the blade struggled and surged through the hard stone.

She came to a jerking stop, and her legs dangled out into the darkness. As she hung from the knurled haft of her weapon, she dared look down to see how close she was. Not close enough. She turned to look back up from whence she came. She could see neither the Gryphon nor the walkway as the heavens continued to unleash their tears down upon her. But she would save her own tears. She still had to find her sister.

But the path was so far away. And it was still a long, long way to the ground.

And she was tired. Ever so tired. The torrential rain seemed like it had lasted for years and would go on till the end of time. The water dribbled down the shaft and snuck under her hands which still clung desperately to her lifeline. She knew she was slipping. She didn't know if she had enough energy for another jump that far. She didn't know if she had a choice.

Ruby closed her eyes and tuned everything else out. Her breathing slowed and that became the sole focus of her existence.

Just her breath.

* * *

Naruto awoke to find himself alone again. For days now his life passed through the same routine. He would wake, train himself into exhaustion until he would collapse and repeated the whole process from square one. Yamato estimated they had a week or so before Zabuza came for them again. He wanted to make the most of that time. But no matter what he did, he couldn't shake the feeling of impotence. He wanted to be strong enough.

But he would always be just a powerless spectator.

It was nighttime. He had no idea what hour. That begged the question of what Ruby was doing. He couldn't seem to remember. Was she awake right now too? Was he taking her away from something important, just so he could stare at the stars?

It occurred to him he ought to know, but it also occurred to him that he might not really be awake.

He wondered what sort of dreams everyone else had. You could do anything in your dreams. People told him that when he dared ask, offhandedly as he could to make it seem he didn't care. Sometimes he wished he had those kinds of dreams. The ones which were bizarre and perfect.

Until he realized this was one of those dreams.

His hand reached out to grasp the stars, twinkling lights falling into his dirty palm. Thousands upon thousands of pinholes piercing the blanket of night. Someone told him something once which he only remembered now. That each of those lights was another sun, like their own. And that somewhere out there, other people were staring back. Listening.

"You hear that Ruby?" He never doubted she was listening. "This is our dream."

He never doubted he was not alone.

"We can do anything."

* * *

Thunder struck, and her eyes shot open. Or maybe it was the other way around?

Her hand tightened against the unbending metal, so tight she might have heard the tiny bones in her hand crack. But she paid it no mind, nor anything else as her focus once again returned inward.

Ruby closed her eyes and tuned everything else out. Her breathing slowed and that became her center.

And from there she branched out until every part of her came into reach of those spindly fingers of energy, the infinite connections which spread like roots throughout her body. She used those and pulled herself up to the surface until she could taste fresh air once again.

She breathed.

Lightning struck.

A crimson bolt spanned from the ground to the heavens, ionizing even the water trapped within the molecules of the rock with a crackling hiss. The curtain of rain parted like the Red Sea, torn asunder by the intensity of her speed. Her path ahead and behind clear. Even the clouds parted to pay their respects to her encore, and she was among the stars.

She was already standing beneath the cornice when the rain began to fall again. She fell on her butt, immune to the tremor the hard rock sent up her spine. If she had been tired before, she was exhausted now. It was funny, she couldn't remember not being this way. When she closed her eyes, he was tired. When they were open, she was tired.

But there was a smile on her face none the less.

Because just a stone's throw below her, she could see several shapes moving towards her in the darkness. It was surprising that she could make out anything that far away. The rain must have been letting up, or the sun was rising. Either way, it was clear enough to let her see these weren't more Grimm here to finish the job.

There was too much joy in her heart for that to be the case.

"Ruby!" The nearest blob yelled in a voice that was hoarse, but recognizable.

"Yang." She croaked, breaking into coughs.

"Ruby!"

"Ruby?!"

"Over here!"

She wanted to be embarrassed as she realized half the class must be out looking for her, scattered around the mountain range. But there was not enough energy left in her to be happy and embarrassed at the same time, so she stuck with the former.

"I found you, Yang." Her voice was so deep it was beginning to sound like Naruto's. She hoped she didn't get pneumonia after all this.

"Found me? I was looking for you!" But she looked more apologetic and relieved than angry. "I suggested we head back to camp, and I thought that you were right behind the whole time until I got there, and you weren't following me!" She tried to put on a humored smile, but Ruby could tell it was extracted from the muddy guilt. "You'd think your cape would be the perfect thing, but turns out that at night it looks sort of blue."

Ruby was the only one who found any humor in that factoid, though her father shushed her when she tried to laugh.

"Easy there… Ruby." Taiyang admonished her, sounding every bit out of breath as she was. "Are you… alright? Any… injuries?"

She just shook her head and tried to stand to illustrate her point. But the butt of _Crescent Rose_ slipped on the wet rock under her weight and she almost went down.

"Careful there, sis!" Yang shot an arm underneath her sister and hiked the smaller girl up on her shoulder.

"I thought you… I thought you had taken the path up the mountain."

"Huh? But why would you think that? That's the opposite way to camp." Yang frowned. "I'm not _that_ bad with directions."

"But… the blood…"

"Blood?"

"A paint marker." Taiyang supplied with a grimace. "The teachers and I put those up to denote the places the students shouldn't go. There's too many elder Grimm up there for junior students to handle." Her father clenched his fists and smashed them into a nearby rock. "Of course, I went up there anyway, just to check. We must have just passed one another in the rain."

Ruby could tell her father was beating himself up over losing track of her. But she didn't want him to blame either himself or Yang, so she tried to forward the conversation.

"How did you find me?"

"Funny thing," Yang looked over at their father as well, wondering what he was going to say about it. "I thought I saw a flash of lightning strike just off the cliff face." He scratched his beard and looked off into the distance at the foreboding peak. "Weird thing is, seemed to me like the flash was red. Figure that's a divine sign if every there was one."

"Hear that, Ruby?" Yang said, nudging her sister. "Guess we're going to have to call you 'Thunder God' now. Or maybe 'Lightening Queen.'"

"Please don't." The girl mumbled, words beginning to slur as her eyelids drooped.

"Okay, okay. I got ya." Yang said, scooping up her sopping wet body, accessories and all. Her drenched cape swaddling the two.

Despite the ludicrous amounts of water soaked into the garment, the wool still kept some heat in, and curled up on her sister's back she felt more at ease than she had been for some time. She was asleep before her head settled on her sister's shoulder.

"I think it's about time we head back." Taiyang proclaimed, looking off to see the sun just beginning to light up the sky and define the end of the storm.

"You _red_ my mind."

* * *

Naruto's eyes fluttered awake, lazily scanning the forest glen, looking for what might have woken him.

There was nothing. Again. Not even a rabbit scurrying about in the underbrush. It had passed the darkest hour of the night and was well on its way to dawn. All was calm.

That was the thing most people didn't really understand. You could lose track of time and still know the difference between dawn and dusk. Dawn was cooler, damp now that the water in the air had bedded down for the night. And the sounds of wildlife stirring were just on the edge of perception, their crescendo just noticeable enough even through the haze of sleep.

Naruto shivered as a feeling of cold swept past him, and then it was gone.

"There you are."

He turned his head slowly to the voice, like he'd always known it was there.

"Here I am."

"Were you out here all night again by yourself?" There was exasperation, but also slight bit of amusement in the question. Maybe concern.

"Mm… no."

A roll of pupil-less eyes which clearly didn't believe him.

"You do know we're still in enemy territory. Try not to do anything reckless again, will you." The smirk he sent him appeared to be far less scathing than it had been, and Naruto wondered if it was just a trick of the light, or if he was being too hopeful.

He just shrugged anyway, stood up and dusted himself off.

"I told you, I'm perfectly fine."

"Sure." Naruto had the decency to blush as his stomach protested loudly. "Come on." Neji sighed, turning back the direction he assumed he had come from. "Tsunami-san is making breakfast and Yamato-sensei and Tenten were worried about you."

"And you?" The blond asked, falling into step amidst a wakening forest.

"No." Naruto stopped just a few paces ahead of Neji and looked back at the older boy. "You can take care of yourself."

A smile on both faces as the sun rose. A bright one which warmed Ruby's heart inside and out.

"Yeah, but it's nice to have friends looking out for you all the same."

* * *

"Hey there! Up and about already?"

Ruby just smiled and closed her diary unhurriedly, not trying to hide anything. Or rather, hiding it in plain sight.

"Nope."

She replied cheerily and stretched like a cat over the length of the warm cot, now bathed in a new day's sunlight. Having touched on the important parts of what she'd remembered wanting to tell Naruto, she tucked the green-leather bound notebook under her pillow and fluffed it up to give her back more support.

"So I see." Yang gave her a smile almost as brilliant as the light outside the tent flap. "Well, take your time. We don't leave until tomorrow evening."

"Ooh! It'll be so nice to sleep in a real bed!"

"You're telling me." Her sister grimaced in annoyance. "This camping stuff is for the birds. It does a number on my hair, and I finally got it the way I like it…" She grumbled the last part as she twisted a frayed strand under her fingertips.

Ruby laughed heartily, only coughing once which caught her sister's worried eye. But the younger girl gave it no mind as she found humor in her sister's newest obsession, and did not dwell on her own infirmity.

Though even if she did not have the other girl as a distraction, she would hardly be want to think of herself. Idle, she could do nothing but think of Naruto, and her mind revolved around ways to help him in his predicament.

She knew he felt guilty about what had happened to her, just as her father and sister did. But she didn't hold it against any of them. There was nothing they could have done, and it was all her fault, anyway. To her, it was just another motivation to improve herself even further. And that made her happy.

Seeing the content smile on her sister's face radiated over to Yang as she temporarily forgot her own aggravations and tried to find the bright side like her sibling always managed to do.

In truth, Ruby was one of Yang's biggest inspirations.

"Hey, it's a beautiful day out, why don't we get some air in here?"

It was indeed a beautiful day, now that the clouds had exhausted themselves of rain and limped off beyond the horizon. The sun warmed the tent nicely, making up for the thin blanket draped over Ruby's legs. But it was stuffy, and she welcomed the flaps being tacked back and the small breeze which wafted in past the damp canvas.

"Watch'a thinking about?"

Yang caught her sister just staring out into the bright sunlight, so real, so close, and yet out of her reach.

At least as long as she was restricted to her bed by overbearing teachers/parents. The blonde had sat down at the head of the cot as Ruby leaned into her for support. Yang glanced down briefly as her hand met the hard-backed spine of Ruby's diary.

"Mm. Nothing much."

What was on her mind was a FUBAR mission. A doomed nation. A tyrant. Another child deprived of a parent. A cleaver-wielding demon. A kind soul trapped in an unwinnable situation.

The usual stuff.

"It's a beautiful day, isn't it?

"Yeah, it is."

* * *

It started off as a nice day. It had quickly changed.

It began with the arrival of two unsavory individuals at the front door of their host's house. They were dealt with easily. But like a swig of rancid milk that was spit out right afterwards, the unwarranted appearance left a bad taste in their mouth.

An upset stomach which lasted all the way to the bridge. And once there, they wanted to puke.

There were bodies strewn all over the place, incalculable in the encroaching mist,

"He's here. Stay sharp."

Right. He always vowed to heed Yamato-sensei's words. He wasn't going to let it be like last time where Neji had surprised him without trying. This enemy wasn't going to announce their presence, beyond the calling card he already left them.

Ruby saw the bodies and wanted to turn away, to not watch. She couldn't.

It was already too late.

"Heh, I didn't get a chance to say this before, but for some no-name baby-sitter, you're not half-bad."

Zabuza was already waiting for them, as they guessed. But he made no effort to hide, and in fact stood opposite them as if waiting for the chance to introduce the masked, fake-hunter-nin by his side, who in reality didn't need any introduction.

Naruto drew a sharp breath and his hand clamped down on the hilt of his kusarigama, the familiar action of running his thumb over the ribbed pattern saving him from drowning in the killing intent which was as thick as the fog.

 _You see it too, don't you, Naruto?_

The hands. The hands of the hunter-nin were unmistakable. At least to her. She could focus on them, as she was less subject to the intense pressure from the impending battle.

That didn't mean she wasn't worried, though.

"Remember the plan." Yamato said placidly without looking away from the Kiri ninja or making a move whatsoever. "Tenten, Naruto."

"Hai."

And like that, the four of them leapt into action, their adversaries content to watch their little plan unfold.

Neji planted himself in a low stance in front of the bridgebuilder, any annoyance at being stuck on the sidelines hidden behind his fierce expression, face taught as a drumskin which highlighted his special eyes. Naruto and Tenten were already halfway to the expectant hunter-nin. Even though the masked shinobi made no effort to intercept them, both knew that it wouldn't take long for that to change. They were wary of the ninja which had purported to take out Zabuza the first time.

Halfway there, Naruto suddenly disappeared in a swirl of crimson leaves which were torn to bits by the fierce winds. But rather than be surprised by this abrupt use of the Shunshin, the hunter-nin almost seemed to expect the reemergence of a hooked blade behind their head as they ducked marginally to avoid it. They drew a senbon in retaliation and pivoted on a heel to drive the spike into Naruto's heart.

But with incredibly tight precision, the blade was deflected from an intervening kunai thrown from the side, and the boy's sickle was followed by a low kick which nearly buckled the enemy's extended leg.

Surprised by the tight coordination, the hunter-nin made to temporarily withdraw to coax out a bit more of their opponent's abilities. They jumped back with a handful of senbon covering their evasion.

Each of the metal needles lodged into a chain link as Naruto drew his combination weapon across his body. And before the masked ninja could begin to gauge the blond's prowess with the scythe, they were reminded of the other enemy when a series of kunai began harrying them.

The consecutive stream of projectiles were batted away with a single senbon. The two, neophyte shinobi saw the effortless deflection and instead of getting discouraged, pressed on forward. And likewise, their opponent did everything in their power to halt their progress.

And so it went.

The two Genin continued to battle Zabuza's associate, each side surprising the other and escalating the fight as it dragged on and on and became more and more deadly. Somewhere off in the mist, death was already in attendance, just waiting for his chance. Metal clanged and waves crashed on concrete, trees grew and withered, and their united fate was tentatively being decided.

And all was observed only by one, who could do nothing but watch and record with a bias towards the blue-eyed shinobi. Ruby wanted nothing more than to shout out, to take control, to warn Naruto of whom was at the other end of his blade.

But then a terrifying thought occurred. What if he already knew? Was he aware that the masked ninja he was battling was the same effeminate boy they had met in the woods? It felt so long ago, but she knew neither of them had forgotten despite the memory trying to hide in the fog. She didn't want to imagine it, but also couldn't deny the possibility that he knew, and yet fought on with murderous intent.

It confused and repulsed her. But mostly, it just scared her.

Was this what the life of a shinobi was like? Was this where her life was heading as well? One day it would be Grimm, the next…

She wanted to rebel but was lost without a place to start.

In her distraction, she missed the moment when the ice formed.

The boy- Haku, she remembered, had quickly gone from a sparing use of his ability to the antithesis of his technique when he realized that the combination of Naruto's speed and Tenten's long-range attacks were not to be taken lightly. Ruby wanted to be proud that they had pushed him this far this fast, but to her shame found she couldn't be. She was too worried for Naruto's sake.

She looked through his eyes to see a hall of mirrors in every direction. Each one of them showing the white-lacquered mask which looked almost sad at what it was about to do. She couldn't see Naruto's face in the reflection, and she worried what she was missing by not knowing what was there.

"You are truly strong, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I guess I am." He answered predictably, deliberately.

It became clear to all that Naruto had not forgotten the encounter.

"You become strong… to protect your precious people."

"I can't let you hurt them."

"I know, and you must understand that I likewise cannot allow you to interfere with Zabuza-sama."

Ruby would never forget the man. He was like Grimm incarnate, feeding off of people's fear. How someone like that could be held in regard by anyone was an outlandish thought.

"He's going to hurt people. He's trying to kill my friends." Ruby could hear the upset in Naruto's voice, and begged him not to do anything rash. Of course, he couldn't hear her pleas.

"This is the life of a shinobi. We have no choice. We are just tools to serve someone else's dream."

A tool? What a strange comparison. Tools were reliable, tough, useful. Like _Crescent Rose_. She'd never given it any thought before, but which one of them was the tool? Which of them served the other most usefully? And, if she was honest, which bore the greater responsibility?

"You're wrong." Naruto's denial was vehement, stalwart. "You claim Zabuza is precious to you. If that's the case, you can't be his tool. To have someone that's precious… that's a two-way street. You can't be his tool, because you are precious to him, too."

The two listeners were more taken aback by this simple statement than all of the Jutsu combined.

 _Of course._ Ruby thought, instantly divesting herself of those insecurities. _I should have realized._ She should have trusted Naruto more. She should have trusted herself more.

"Is that so?" Even behind his mask, Haku looked ruffled. The tiniest jerk of his shoulders were reflected a thousand times over. "It's a noble thought, but at the end of the day it is merely a philosophical question, answered only by action. So, tell me Naruto-kun, which is more precious, which of you is more valuable: you, or your teammate?"

Ruby could feel Naruto's heart leap into his throat at the mention of Tenten. Even though she was outside of the icy cage, and he was the one who posed the biggest threat to Haku.

"Don't you dare hurt her." Naruto growled, and Ruby was once again afraid that he might not be able to restrain himself from killing. Mainly because in the same situation, she didn't know if she would be able to, either. "It's over, Haku. I can escape your trap any time I want. It's just a matter of time before I break your mirrors."

"You are fast," The boy conceded. "But fast enough, I wonder?"

He could easily flicker out of the dome before Haku's attack could reach him. Of that he was certain. But the fact that the emotionless image had yet to make a move to act upon the threat worried him more than weapons brandished in anger. Both he and Ruby realized what was happening at the same time.

"Genjutsu…!"

"More like a mirage…"

But Naruto ignored his words as he shot his gaze past the spaces between the ice mirrors and into the mist beyond, looking for something he'd know when he saw it.

"Tenten!"

It was just a dark spot sprayed on the backdrop of mist, but he could feel what was happening in the middle of it like he was there himself. In a way, he was: a mirror world where the slogan was "objects are further away than they appear".

"I am sorry, Naruto."

If only he could have been a little bit faster.

"Kaiten!"

The blanket of mist seemed to shrug away from the structure, balloon outwards and slough off the top as a single nucleus of energy drilled through the barrier.

"Neji!" Naruto was by the boy's side within the second, deflecting a volley of senbon which followed immediately after the rotations stopped.

"Tenten is guarding Tazuna." Neji huffed, answering Naruto's unasked question. "I substituted myself with her when I realized what he was planning."

The boy's teammate nodded his thanks, but did not otherwise have time to respond as another salvo of darts rained down on the both of them. Neither came out of the exchange unscathed.

"Yes, well done. You have answered my question, at least. Though I hesitate to say that the girl is worth both of your lives."

"I don't intend for anyone to die here." Ruby grew happier with those words and the imperceptible effect they had on Haku, even as she tried to ignore the gut-wrenching sound as Naruto ripped a few senbon out of his arm.

"I am sorry to say, but you are now within my real trap, and I have already disabled some of the pressure points in your limbs. I do not think you will be getting out this time."

"Quit apologizing!" The blond Jinchuriki yelled as he wailed uselessly on the slabs of frozen water. "-just do something about it!" He threw out the sagely words of advice with bravado, but the weighted chain and even the pick-like point of his kusarigama belied his helplessness with their inability to pierce the hardened ice.

"Very well."

Oh, how Ruby wished she could help Naruto the way he helped her. To do that would be worth becoming a tool with no desire of her own. But as his strikes were ineffectual against the reinforced ice, so too were her silent pleas.

"Sixty-four palms!" The hands darted out in rapid succession, plucking the needles out of the air like flies.

However, like her, now Naruto was not alone.

"Sixteen! Thirty-two! Sixty Four!" Even as the fusillade of needles continued to rain down on them, Neji's voice cut through the cacophony of whistles like a siren, screaming out the score. "One-hundred-twenty-eight!"

An exuberant cry marked the end of the storm.

"Gotcha!"

The matte steel chain extended from Naruto's hands to one of the mirrors, wrapped solidly around something that looked like a piton but later realized to be a foot.

The sharp intake of breath which must have been there was muffled by the ice. But the deadening material did nothing to mute the odd, wrenching-cracking sound as Naruto heaved on the other end of the coil and the fake hunter-nin was forcibly extracted from the ice like a fish out of water. Neji moved to the blond's side to strike out at the incoming target. But despite Haku's surprise at being snagged, the shifty ninja was not about to become obsolete without a fight.

He twisted while being dragged through the air and threw a hand out towards Naruto. Time seemed to stop as the widening blue eyes comprehended the dagger of ice traveling down the length of the chain. But neither person behind those eyes could do anything about it.

Neji diverted his palm at the last second and batted the projectile away while Haku continued his path to the ground. The sound of his body bouncing off the concrete snapped Naruto out of his paralyzed trance. He wasted no more time in tacking the chain down into the earth with his blade and flickering over to the ensnared ninja within a heartbeat.

The first punch cracked the mask, and whipped Haku's head back as he tried to sit up. The second batted him the other direction, and sent the lacquered shards flying.

The third hung for just a second, as the unadorned face stared back impassively at their impending defeat. But only a second, as the cocked-fist then buried itself into his gut and forced him onto his knees in search of spilled air.

"Finish me." The battered voice wheezed out, staring straight up at the slowly dissolving mirrors.

"You are finished." Naruto declared as he retrieved his kusarigama, whipping the rest of the chain around his waist. "Can't you realize it's over?"

"Then I have failed." The sounds of battle in the distance died off as well, and there was a moribund stillness throughout the bridge. "I am a broken tool, of no use to Zabuza."

Naruto looked back to his teammate who had just recovered from his successive use of two high-power techniques and was silently padding over them.

"I keep telling you, you're not a tool." He turned his sight back to the shinobi slumped over on the asphalt. "A broken tool can be cast aside, replaced. A bond is not so easy. That's why I'm not going to kill you. I don't want to be the one to break that bond."

"But I've failed him." Haku said matter-of-factly, uncaring for the blood dribbling down his chin. "You must kill me. What use is there for weakness?"

"Because unlike tools, we can come back better than before. We can pick up our pieces and re-forge them, make something better than what was there originally. It's through knowing our faults we improve, it's through our weakness we get stronger."

Ruby listened with a contemplative air to these words of truth. Though she was the one to work the flame and metal with tender care and her own hands, this also made her prone to see her work as perfection. But Naruto was right. Someday _Crescent Rose_ might not live up to the task and would break under the strain. But they never would. They'd be able to hammer out the cracks in their lives and re-hone themselves better than before.

But the only reason that was true was because they had another watching out for the signs of weakness, ready to step in with a healing touch.

Haku chuckled grimly.

"Strange to give encouragement to an enemy."

"I hope you won't be an enemy forever." Naruto smiled softly down at the defeated shinobi. "I'd like to consider you one of my precious people. Have your pieces added into what becomes part of the new me."

Ruby saw Neji flinch in the peripheries as Naruto extended a hand to the their abjectly defeated adversary. But Naruto didn't pay it any mind, and the stoic Hyῡga held his tongue as Haku regarded the invitation with an awe that was almost too much for his weary nerves to handle.

But where he didn't have energy to argue, he raised a shaky arm instead.

"One of these days, your kindness will get you killed, Naruto."

Naruto just smiled as he helped the other boy to his feet and bore his weight on his shoulder, taking Neji's dower and suspicious attitude in stride. The mist was already sublimating into thin air.

"Not soon, I think."

Naruto felt the whippet-like body tense around his shoulders, and he followed Haku's gaze across the blacktop.

"Zabuza-sama-!"

Their own Jonin sensei was standing in front of a bramble of trees, a bonsai forest right there on the bridge. And deeply ensconced in the thickly wooded copse was the familiar face they were looking for. Dark, gaunt, and bowed, leaning forward with arms shackled by the scraggly branches.

"He's alive." Though the Byakugan user did not sound happy to pronounce this.

Even though he knew Neji held reservations about this lenient approach, Naruto was still grateful that the boy could put his own animosity aside. He also secretly held some pride, which assumed Yamato had spared the man's life for his sake. Although he knew better. There was an exhale of breath, and he wasn't sure if it was his own or Haku's.

"It's over."

"Not quite."

The dark-haired Genin was no longer regarding the closing sessions of the adults, and was instead looking up the bridge a way, far past where the vapor still shrouded the path ahead. The relief they felt was quickly reversed and a renewed surge of apprehension swept over them all.

"Gato." Neji sounded more like his old, condescending self when he said that name. "And he brought friends. A lot of them."

"That's not good. I think I'm nearing the end of my chakra." The body-flicker ate up a lot with the way he used so wantonly. Did he have enough to take the dwarfish man's head in one jump? Would that be enough to demoralize the countless mercenaries into fleeing?

"Mm." His teammate nodded shallowly past his stern visage. "Can't say I am much better. And our 'acquaintance' looks to be on his last legs." Haku made no move to protest or turn his eyes away from the rapidly retreating fog line.

"Well, what do we do?"

Ruby had no advice to offer even if she could. Protocols for encountering a hoard were to flee or else seek shelter. None of that applied here. She thought about what Naruto would do, what he would say. But then realized she would say the same thing.

"Fuck it."

Well, maybe not quite that.

"Eloquent as always, Uzumaki."

"And I told you to call me-"

"I know, I know." The two deliberately stepped forward a few paces as Naruto laid his burden back on the ground. "Just make sure to watch my back, _Naruto_."

"Heh. Teme. You watch mine."

Each exchange of words brought the silhouette more into focus. But as it was, they still had the advantage of surprise. They might be able to take the lot of mercenaries in one go.

"Stand down." They both glanced to where their sensei was walking calmly over to them, giving only a fleeting glance to the injured and unmasked accomplice who was tracking him intently. "You've done a fine job. Take a break."

The two Genin stared at the man like he had grown a second head, but the truly surprising thing was the unbound Demon of the Mist walking up behind him. Like Yamato, Zabuza only gave the teenagers an impassive second of regard before cocking his head at their instructor who was watching it all out of the corner of his large, brown eye.

"I do this, and we're square, right?"

The Mokuton user gave a stiff nod as the battered and bruised man set a dislocated elbow back in with nary a grunt, but with a sickening pop which they were sure even Gato's men could hear.

"Forgive me if I don't much trust a man with so many secrets…" He leered at Yamato.

"As I see it, you don't have much of a choice." The man answered coolly, forcing Zabuza's expression to morph into a grimace and shift over to his disabled subordinate.

He stared at Haku for what felt like a minute before turning towards the apprehensive blond who had unknowingly taken a step back towards his former adversary.

"You. Blondie. Make sure he keeps his word, got it?"

Naruto nodded, despite not understanding what he was being asked to do. And with a half-satisfied grunt, the former Demon turned his back on all of them, dutifully ignoring the heated and imploring gaze from his protégé.

"Take care of Haku."

"Zabuza-"

"Don't." The man's harsh words easily beat out the whimper. "Just- don't look back."

His abused and weary joints cracked and popped as he flexed the only arm which still seemed to be usable, the other hanging limply by his side.

"Anyone got my sword?"

"Um h-here, sir." The familiar yet impish voice rang out behind them, dwarfed by the massive sword it was hiding behind.

"You make quick work, girl." He held the arm out without looking back.

Tenten scurried quickly to return the blade which she obtained from gods-knew where, and hopped back as soon as the leathery hand clamped down on the sharkskin handle. As she retreated back to where her charge was waiting for her, Yamato sent her a withering look but did not utter a reprimand. She had not, after all, abandoned Tazuna, as the man clearly approached them on his own initiative.

"You're welcome to come and see me off, bridgebuilder." The massive cleaver snapped up in his grip. "Just don't try and get in my way anymore."

"I'm with Yamato-san on this. You're square with me now. I ain't gonna do shit."

"Hmph. Good."

Was no one going to stop him? The man was the walking dead already. Even she could see that his breathing was labored, cracked ribs likely poking into places they shouldn't. No matter the good intentions, blunt trauma was every bit as deadly for a man who knew no pain.

"Any last questions for a dead man?"

Even he knew it! Why was everyone just letting him do this?

"Forgive me, this is probably not an appropriate time to mention it, but as one of the legendary Seven Swordsmen-"

"It's just a fucking blade. Take it. Sell it. What do I care what you do with it? Can't take it with me where I'm going."

Ruby loved weapons. She really did. But even she would be appalled to consider that more important than someone's life. Unfortunately for her, she didn't have time to be appalled with Yamato's skewed sense of priorities. The crazed swordsman discharged himself from the inquisition and blitzed straight at the shadowy crowd. He was moving incredibly fast for someone whose blood was probably sloshing around in his gut.

Gato and his men noticed the demon only seconds before he reached them.

"Ah, the Legendary Demon of the M- no, wait! What are you doing?! I am your employ-!"

"Just shut up and die already!"

They were all unwilling spectators to the massacre. The swiftness nor justice did anything to make it any more palatable. The fact that Gato cowered like a dog did nothing to make him any less human.

But still no one would make a move to stop it. No one would make a sound.

The Land of Waves would gain its independence that day on a bridge christened in blood.

Do not be so surprised, this is the way many good stories start. Rivers are crossed best when dead and dry, tenets of freedom won only after hardship, and heavens reached on the piled backs of corpses.

What comes next is usually better. Generations afterwards taking to heart those hard-earned lessons. But in that better life, do not forget its humbler beginnings. Even as we reject that prehistoric existence we forget the teachings which birthed the world we know. Falling from the tower of Babble, unable to comprehend how we got there in the first place.

Maybe that was the problem with Remnant. They had been peaceful and complacent for too long, forgetting what it truly meant not to be at war. The message in names of color, lost on those who heard them every day. Concepts of tolerance and acceptance, intangible for people who never needed them before. Maybe they had forgotten the lessons which pulled them from the ashes of a broken world.

One thing was true, though. Neither Ruby nor Naruto would ever forget what happened ever again.


	12. Tautologous

**Yay! Midweek update! Thanks again you guys! Might even want to look out for another update this weekend (not promising anything, but hope doesn't cost much!).**

* * *

"Again."

Those words had been her cadence for as long as she could remember. Her life a canonic sonata in which each day overlapped the one before so to become one endless song of hard work.

"R-Right."

This time was different tune. From the way her muscles protested vehemently against her jerking movement, to the impossible pull of gravity on her petit frame which bled into her very will to go on. For this time her drive was external, a different conductor leading the beat.

"Come on, Ruby. Get up."

The voice was no longer familiar, no longer the friendly encouragement, or even a light teasing of her skills to light a fire underneath her. It was cold, harsh, decrying the reality of all that veteran huntsman had been witness to.

"I'm… trying."

The words were _his_ reality and the way the world was outside of her dreamlike life. The way it was in the life of her dreams.

She just thought she'd have more time before that happened to her.

"Five minutes."

Given reprieve, she let herself collapse back onto the dusty ground, once soft grass now trampled bare from their near constant spars. She might have dozed off but couldn't tell and didn't much care.

Naruto would wake up in his bed in the middle of the night for all of five minutes, long enough to scribble off a quick note from the pad on his bedside table and go back to sleep.

He had always been one to solve his problems directly. This was still true now, as he would take out a lot of his frustrations with not being able to help Ruby through his own brutal training regime. But after a gallingly long time, he'd been forced to own up to his impotence and watch instead with eyes unclouded by anger. He wasn't doing himself or his partner any favors otherwise.

He'd observed the change in her Uncle, the difference in the way he went about her training. Gone was the nurturing, borderline pandering attitude he'd adopted at first, where each step she took forward was met with equal parts soft praise and stern reinforcement.

It wasn't like they had not expected it after the incident on the field trip. Figured that it shocked her guardians into trying to toughen her up, fear of losing her entirely overriding that of destroying her innocence.

This mode had continued for many weeks now. Qrow should have lightened up on her, but hadn't.

Qrow was scared. That was what Naruto had tried to relate to her. But of what? There, he could offer no help.

"Alright, that's enough rest. Let's get back at it."

Blue eyes blinked into silver, blinked back into darkness. Could she even get up? Her arms were already testing this theory before she was fully awake, following instinctually the command from the elder huntsman.

A pained sigh, a strong arm under her jelly ones.

"Alright, I think that we're done for today."

"N-no! I can still go on."

"Yeah, I know you can. Just give an old man a chance to rest, will yeah?"

There it was, that light sarcasm and wry humor which had been absent for so long. It was wanting even then, lackluster in its delivery and strained just like her muscles.

As she was lightly jostled up and down, the words scrawled hastily on that yellow paper entered her mind. What exactly was it that her uncle was afraid of? Surely Patch was in no danger any time soon. Its isolation had protected them for decades, centuries now. Furthermore, she still had several years to go in Signal where she would get far stronger. Strong enough that she would be more than capable by the time she set off on her own in the great big world of Vale.

Besides, didn't he know that fear would attract Grimm?

* * *

It was early. He'd always been an early riser, sunrises being a daily vitamin he scarfed alongside a quick breakfast of milk and cereal before training.

This time it was _early_. He didn't care to read the crimson numbers on his bedside clock and settled for the qualifying fact that his tiny apartment was still totally black. There was no use to going back to sleep though, and so he got up and started his day.

He thought better on his feet anyway, always had. And so, while his body went on autopilot, unhurriedly going about daily ablutions and setting the kettle to boil for tea, his mind wandered to the person who normally occupied this time of the day and the majority of his thoughts.

Once again, he wished that he could help Ruby further. But also came to the same conclusion same as before, that the best way to do that would be to provide her an example. Suffer along with her as he pushed himself to exhaustion in his own training. He could think of nothing to help her with Qrow. His only experience with those kinds of familial bonds was through her, and both were equally lost.

He had to focus on other things, had decisions to make in his own life as well. But then it wasn't like they were real choices, anyway.

Naruto and his team would wander back into the village after the mission in Wave, weary and still feeling like their heads were lost in the mist. Things had been so surreal since they began that he was wondering if this wasn't the type of dreams people talked about.

Zabuza was dead. As much as he could be this time. Despite Yamato giving his word to take care of the boy, he let the swordsman's apprentice disappear into the dense forests in the land of Wave. Haku was clearly more than capable of taking care of himself, slipping in with some local populace far away where no one knew his name, face, gender or cruel history. This could be considered a sad ending to an equally sad episode. But in the end, it was just a hollow feeling to be filled by the news Yamato had for them once they were safely behind the gates.

He was recommending them for the Chῡnin exams. Convinced that after a full year of working together they had not only improved enough individually, but as a team as well. Naruto had to objectively agree with him. But was he ready? That was a question he'd yet to answer, but would have to soon.

Supposing that was another reason he pushed himself so hard next to Ruby. To make sure he didn't fall behind. To make sure that he wouldn't let anyone else down.

"So you decided to show up."

He cocked an eyebrow quizzically. Was there ever any doubt? Neji smirked.

"Come on. Tenten's waiting for us."

There was both excitement and competitiveness in there. It was heartening and off-putting at the same time. But ultimately moot.

" _There_ you guys are."

"We're not late." A doubtful look to the older boy. "Are we?"

Neji rolled his pupil-less eyes, not deigning to answer the obvious.

Tenten was just teasing them. He should have known that. He had known that.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't you know perfection takes time? We can't all just roll out of bed looking beautiful like pretty-boy here." He nudged his senior Genin who gave him an annoyed, but tolerant look.

It was in fact Naruto who winced, abashed by how blatant he was trying to divert the topic away from his own preoccupation.

He tried his best to forget his distraction for the now, let Ruby mull over it instead. While fighting with her uncle drained her physically and mentally that was a different kind of concentration. She could afford to spend the leftover brain power on this. He needed to reserve what little he had on the upcoming test.

She would try, but It was hard to know her partner's internal thoughts these days. Without a doubt his reservations had something to do with the task ahead. But beyond that, she could not deny a sixth sense present within her own conscious, either absorbed from the body she now occupied or else brought over from her waking hours.

After being lost in these thoughts for a short jaunt down the hallways, she found herself when Naruto did, amongst a gaggle of fellow Konoha ninja in a nondescript examination room. Safe territory. Relatively speaking. They did not know two-third of the people by name, and had reservations about any number of their supposed allies.

One in particular caught the attention of the two souls. But it shouldn't have been a surprise because the older Genin managed to attract quite a bit of attention to himself overall, waving around his dangerous cards carelessly. The glasses-wearing ninja was absently added to separate lists in the two minds.

But he could not be spared any more thought as _that boy_ passed through their sights.

Ruby, and Naruto by proxy had become especially sensitive to darker emotions because of their danger around Grimm. Up close the teen was a wellspring- nay, a tarpit of the stuff, threatening anyone near him to become mired in that dangerous logic and gloomy outlook.

Except, that is, for two girls whom they recognized from that same fateful day, who were totally inured to the emotion thanks to the one-way protective mirror of vanity. They clung on to the Uchiha scion like mosquitos.

To protect himself and his passenger, Naruto steered far away from that human bug-zapper.

"Anyone see Lee?"

His innocent question would not be answered until much, much later. Not until two of the tests had gone by and the unconventional team had surmounted numerous obstacles. Including tasks which tested both their teamwork and patience.

There would be close calls, some which could be considered mildly humorous to outside observers, or after much retrospect.

Such as when during the first exam, Tenten had tried to wake Naruto up from his 'nap' with a kunai, and narrowly missed getting ejected. Which would spur a chuckle out of Ruby who was helping him to cheat. Or later, with the blond's infamous incident with the Second Exam's proctor. Though himself in that scary situation, it was funnier for Naruto as he pictured Ruby's reaction to the Snake-Lady trying to drink his blood. Fear beaten by humor.

But this was the only lightheartedness to be found, for everything else they found came with something heavy attached.

To their credit, they passed each of their tests solidly in the middle if the pack. Quite the achievement if one considers the obstacles in their way. But this went unappreciated by Neji. And because of him, as he revealed in due course that he had yet to completely turn over a new leaf. This revelation spoiled most of the accomplishments they could celebrate.

Ruby would further be confronted with the cruelty of the ninja world in that time. Fights to the death between comrades- between friends and family. Cold-blooded assassins looming in every corner. Monsters which rivaled Grimm in ferocity. And hate, anger, betrayal. Intense feelings she'd never even considered possible.

And to her shame, some of them came from Naruto, from her.

But there was also no shortage of it in the other participants. It was written across the faces of the Ame-ninjas who tried to ambush them. It resounded in every blow as Neji struck down his cousin. And it drowned the forest when it exploded from the raven-haired boy in a visible torrent, darkness spreading across his skin like a plague.

Each had such malice in their eyes. Every one of them.

And now, though she could not see it's reflection, it was there in the eyes of her partner as he glared at his hands which were useless to stop any of it.

"Why? Why couldn't I do anything? What was all that training for if I just have to sit by and let things happen?"

For once, Ruby could not tell if Naruto was speaking to himself, or to her. He must have known she hadn't an answer but needed to hear something in that resounding silence. It was horrible to feel so helpless. What made it unbearable was the fact that they both did. More than ever, she wished she could reach across the cosmos and embrace him. Hold him, and have him hold her, assuring them both that everything was going to be alright.

The lone beeping of a heart monitor was poor company.

"She's going to be alright, you know." The toneless voice of Yamato drifted in over his shoulder, unreassuringly. "It was a sanctioned match, and the proctor stopped it when he could."

"I know." Naruto answered in an even monotone.

They both knew. They had both learned so many things during their time together. And yet knowing did little to prepare them for the inevitable. It was one thing when it happened to an enemy. It was another when it happened to a friend.

"Why-" Naruto began.

"Hm?"

"Why, do you think she did that? Why did she have to be so cruel when she had already won?"

It wasn't like that Sand-ninja was showing off her skills to anyone who cared. She was just the perfect adversary for Tenten, the wind techniques negating all of the girl's hard-won skills with weapons. That Temari girl, they both wanted to know what made her so callous, if only to sate the feeling of being otherwise powerless to help their teammate.

Yamato hummed as he gazed over his shoulder. "Some say meanness is something that is taught. I don't believe that. I feel that everyone has a little bit in them, and only need something to draw it out."

It was something they suspected, heard before, but found hard to believe.

"What could do that to a person?" Indeed, what?

"Fear." Came the one-word response.

Naruto turned in his seat so that he and Ruby could see the far-away look in the Jōnin's eye.

Fear. That could do it. They'd both felt fear before, known of its omnipresence back in Wave. They had been able to overcome it those times. But each time had been more potent, harder to resist.

What of in the Forest of Death, when confronted with it in corporeal form? Fear made him want to strike the possessed Sasuke down before he hurt any of his friends. Fear made Ruby want to do the same.

How long would they be able to resist its beck and call?

"What is she so afraid of?" He asked, again, to someone and everyone listening.

He looked his own fear straight in the face. Tenten lay there with bruises and swelling disfiguring her robust beauty, treated cuts covered her body. He was scared for her, scared of losing her. And he wanted to hate the one responsible.

But fear… did fear make those feelings excusable? If ever there was something to be afraid of, that red-headed Sand-ninja was it. And to think he was her brother. That thought rattled his very conception of kin. He was scared just thinking about that cold, cold stare. There wasn't even any hate, and so there was nothing to relate to. He could understand her fear. He couldn't fathom _that_.

That didn't excuse it. Ruby had been scared facing the Gryphon. She had been scared when confronted with the change in her uncle. And throughout it all he had been scared for her. But did she lash out at anyone? No, never. Fear drove them to get stronger, to protect those they cared about.

Upon seeing that strength fail him now, Naruto could understand where other options might be appealing. Sasuke grew undeniably stronger with his hate, as did Neji. But he couldn't-wouldn't do that to Ruby. Would not sidle her with that burden, nor betray himself with entertaining it.

"I'll get stronger, Tenten. I promise." He grabbed her unconscious hand and squeezed it gently. Ruby idly marveled at how she never noticed how similar their hands were- how incredibly small even compared to Naruto's. "Once you're out of here, we'll both get stronger."

"Will you be alright?" His sensei deigned ask after giving the boy ample time. Naruto nodded.

"Okay, if you need me for something, don't be afraid to contact the other Jōnin sensei. They'll know how to reach me."

"Where will you be?" Naruto asked after digesting the words, catching Yamato before he left the room.

"I think Neji and I need another talk."

"Is she going to be alright?" He repeated the question, suddenly remembering that his teammate was not the only one injured. Satisfied that Tenten was going to be okay, for now, and suddenly remembered his other priority. That, and he could not bear to look at her unconscious pain anymore. "That girl, Neji's cousin. Is she- is she going to make it?"

He knew through first-hand experience just how dangerous the seemingly 'gentle' strikes could be and did not envy the girl being on the receiving end of such a brutal onslaught. Aye, he feared for her, too.

"You mean Hinata." It was the first time he had seen the man frown. Lead weights dragging the corners of his mouth down just below level. "That's my next stop." He confessed.

Naruto nodded in resignation, not understanding. Either his instructor didn't know, or he wanted to spare him the bad news. If he was reasoning that Naruto might extract revenge on his vindictive teammate, he could not blame the man for thinking so. He _did_ want to.

His prior talk with Neji had been for naught. That further incensed him, given the import he placed with words. The recurring issue had already almost come to blows again, it was guaranteed that it would eventually. He was eager for it. Part of him wanted to make sure Neji couldn't make that mistake again. Part of him wanted to exact punishment in proportion to the crime.

Naruto stopped himself by remembering his own foolish mistakes. The fact that he, despite being the one person who should know better, had made them too. The difference was that he was trying to correct them. He resolved to cure the hatred- in everyone- starting with his teammate.

Once step at a time.

But in that following silence, Ruby was left to wonder the same thing as Yamato for a little while longer. She had to question if Naruto's frustration would lead him down that path of no return. She knew the boy so much more intimately, and still trusted her otherworldly sibling to do the right thing. Though it did not stop her from worrying.

When he made it all the way home without letting his thoughts be known, she began to feel the tug of doubt. But she managed to keep it under wraps throughout his solitary dinner and his evening routine, silence overbearing it all.

She was not unused to his more recalcitrant moments of contemplation, when he would go from a bright and cheery boy to a statue. It was partly her fault, anyway. It was still worrying when he crawled into bed without uttering a word or scribbling her a quick note of reassurance. She let out a sigh of relief when he reached over to the eternal pad of paper by his bedside and deliberately engraved two words into the page, so forcefully they might have permanently marked the cardboard backing.

The light went out and Naruto closed his eyes, sealing the two of them off from the world. But even as she opened them on her end, the characters were etched into her eyes like a sunspot.

Love Hate

* * *

Fear. Fear of the unknown. Ruby had been scared on the first day of classes at Signal. She had been scared when her uncle began acting strangely. She had been scared when first confronted with that someone-who-was-her-but-wasn't.

These fears were easily conquered. They were beaten with time, with knowledge.

It was no different now as she was lead on the unfamiliar streets of Vale. The city loomed large, imposing and impersonal compared to Patch. It was full of unknowns, around every corner a new danger prowled until she confronted it. But she soldiered on without complaint because she knew it was fleeting until she learned how to deal with it all. She would come to deal with it. This was that thought which gave her strength.

Also, imagining the dazzled look on Naruto's face as he gazed upon sky-scrapers for the first time through her eyes would give her immeasurable joy. Even more delight than seeing it for herself.

So as Naruto faced his ninja trial, Ruby embarked on a different sort of adventure. It would be foolish to think of it as any less important, any less dangerous. Pitfalls lurked in the big cities, there was no question of that. Grimm were not enough of a deterrent to keep people from doing horrid things to one another.

Why could they not see the continued cycle of hatred? How could they not understand that it would- had lead to their destruction?

These were questions for another time.

"Dad, can we get something to eat? I'm huuuuuungry…."

That was an appropriate question, though Ruby giggled at its delivery.

"What? Just a minute ago you were bored out of your mind, trying to get us to let you go off on your own- _which by the way is_ _ **still**_ _not happening!_ "

Yang grumbled something about taking off with her license (once she got it, of course), but under the scrutinizing eyes of her father peering over the wrinkled map, she covered up her seditious language.

"That was then, and this is now. And I was hungry back then too, but you wouldn't let me go out with my friends, so now I'm starving!"

After more obligatory disagreement, their stomachs settled the question and directed them to a rudimentary noodle stand with enticing smells wafting out from the slowly rotating pressed-metal air vent.

"Well, not exactly what I had pictured for a celebratory meal, but I guess it's not bad, huh?"

"Mph, got no complaints out of me!"

"Yang, what have I told you about talking with your mouth full?"

"Say it, don't spray it?" A wad of noodles traveled down a lump in her throat as she swallowed and wiped her broth-splattered face before letting out a satisfied burp and digging back in.

"Wait, celebrating?"

"Oh come on! You can't tell me you forgot you aced the combat test! You got the best score in the history of Signal! Dad's assistant is going to be out of it for at least a week!"

Ruby shrugged sheepishly and turned back to playing with her noodles, suddenly not feeling overly hungry despite the thought of Naruto chiding her for wasting perfectly good food.

"You should really take more pride in your grades, Ruby." Her father admonished, slipping into his role as a teacher.

"Why?" The blond father of two was taken aback by the genuine and unexpected question.

"Because grades are a reflection on your performance, and many people will look at them throughout your life to judge what kind of person you are."

Ruby frowned, now pushing the bowl of noodles away from her. She had completely lost her apatite.

A letter. One letter, ascribed by someone who may or may not sympathize or understand you. She was lucky to have her father as a teacher, but many others were not his children. Could he claim to know them as well? Did he feel confident enough to judge their character with a simple stroke of a pen?

She had never really thought about it before, but it hardly seemed fair. It was that sort of generalization which condemned Naruto for so long. Worse, it seemed to perpetuate that same sort of misunderstanding that hate did. Both were reactions to the unquantifiable.

"That's dumb." Ruby declared matter-of-factly, stunning the other two who nearly fell off their bar stools. "I don't really care how people see me. I want to _do_ good, not be told I am. I want to use my strength to protect people. I don't need to show it or my grades off to anyone to know who I am."

Taiyang was torn with being aghast and being proud of his youngest daughter for taking such a mature/naïve viewpoint. Really, he should have learned to expect these sorts of outbursts from the daughter of Summer Rose by now, but she always managed to dredge up new ways to surprise him. He wanted to support her, truly he did. But if bursting her bubble was the best way to keep her from messing up her future, that was a fair price to pay.

"I must say, that is a rather interesting way to look at it." His finger raised and his mouth poised to say something, yet he was preempted as a newcomer's voice called out from the deserted street. "Though I cannot say I disagree. In fact, I vaguely recall saying something similar to my teachers oh so many years ago."

"P-professor Ozpin!"

It was impossible not to recognize the man. Even before his silver hair brushed aside the decorative overhang and he stooped to enter the quaint establishment, his aura would precede him. Not his Aura, but just the feeling which enveloped him like a personal force field, whispering charming mysteries, calming puzzles which one could lose hours of the day and still felt like you had learned something.

"Professor Tai Yang. Pleasure to see you outside of the classroom. How long has it been? A decade? 12, 13 years?"

It had indeed been that long. He had sent the man an invitation to both of his weddings and baby showers, and one funeral, but he had never dared come. Taiyang would not say that he wasn't miffed at that.

"More or less, yeah." The younger man hooked an arm around both of his daughters, drawing them close to his chest. "These are my two daughters, Yang and Ruby."

"Raven and Summer's daughters." Tai flinched as the lanky headmaster did not even try to make believe it was a question.

"Yes.

Ozpin sat down in one of the high stools, managing not to look cramped in the small stall even with his knees squished up near his chest. He did not even bother to take his eyes off the family of three as a cup of something steaming was set in front of him.

"Hmm." He hummed, one hand caressing the ball of his cane the other on the mug. "Ruby,"

"Y-yes?" An elbow from her father. "Sir?"

"Going back to what you were saying," He seamlessly interjected himself in their conversation, not missing a beat and acting like it was the most normal thing in the world. "I am inclined to agree with you. I can tell you from my position as Headmaster of Beacon that I get any number of pristine applications across my desk. And yet, they are lacking, because they do not tell me who the students _are_."

"Who they are?" Ruby probably knew what he meant, but decided to ask anyway, just to see how the man would answer.

Ozpin also recognized the unurgency did not respond right away. Instead, he turned to a bowl which had been placed in front of him without his having to order, and deliberately lifted a clutch of steaming noodles from his bowl with a pair of the plastic chopsticks from the little holders on the counter. He considered the strands for a moment, put them in his mouth, chewed and then swallowed.

And then he answered.

"I want to know what kind of people I am accepting to my academy." He pulled a single noodle out. "Are they smart? Are they impulsive? Are they orderly? Are they loners? Are they brave? Are they just?

"Are they loyal?"

Ruby grew more concerned as the conversation went on. She didn't understand why. It was irrational. It was a feeling akin to that fear of the unknown, and so she repressed it in favor of seeing where this new experience was going, until she could tell whether or not she _should_ be afraid.

"And how can you tell?"

He laughed, a reserved patter that was like the rapping of fingers on oak.

"That is much harder. If it were not, they would try to give you grades for it."

"Ain't that the truth?"

Taiyang grumbled to himself, reluctantly doling out the plastic currency for his family's lunch, and sneaking nosy glances at his daughter's conversation.

He had no reason to be nervous, at least he shouldn't. Ozpin was a man that he had trusted for years during his own education, and there was little question he would do the same good job with his daughter's. This private one-on-one with his youngest only helped cement that fact. The professor should have been happy that his daughter was so appealing to the eccentric headmaster.

"Regardless," The man spoke up again, pushing away the empty bowl they had never seen him finish. "whether we like it or not, grades are still used by many people nowadays to determine our path in life. It is best if we strive to get the best ones as possible, because that will give us the most options down the line."

Ruby nodded dutifully, not feeling much better even having the headmaster of Beacon academy agree with her. He had told her nothing, given her nothing except his tacit approval. And from his posture, it was very clear he wasn't going to let anything slip this time.

"However," He spoke up quietly, so much so that even in that tiny space she might have been the only one to hear him. Well, her and Naruto. "I am certain that the people who matter, the ones you want to think the best of you, will be able to see the real you no matter what lies between."

"You think?"

"Yes, I do." He handed a few translucent plastic bars to the old man behind the counter and turned to leave, giving her an enigmatic smile. "Because the people who are wise know that we are truly defined by our actions

"…so be sure that you study hard and continue to do well in your studies." He finished off in a normal volume, flicking his eyes to the mistrustful father and giving him a cool smile.

Both her dad and sister shot her inquisitive looks as Ozpin left his seat and wandered out into the busy summer's day.

"Oh, and before I forget," He popped his head back in, startling the three of them who thought they felt him walk off. "Congratulations, Miss Rose."

And like the Gypsies he was gone, and a cold chill shook her spine with those parting words.

"So w-"

"Oh WOW!" Yang gushed, beating out her father. "Oh man! I can't believe we got to meet **the** Professor Ozpin! Damn! Why did I have to be so awkward?! For some reason I could hardly talk, I was like you on the first day of school- no offense, Sis."

"None taken." Ruby replied in a slight daze. Today was certainly fuller of unexpected things than she anticipated.

Taiyang watched his two daughters banter as normal, the celebrity conversation just another fad topic to be exhausted by dinnertime. But even though he held his question of curiosity for now, he would not soon forget the happenstance encounter. If it could be deemed such a thing.

First Qrow, and now Ozpin himself. Taiyang did not know what was going on, and for the first time in a long time,

He was scared.

* * *

Naruto didn't know what to think about this man, Ozpin. For once, he did not try to actively judge during the encounter and instead listened with rapt attention. The fact the man's presence alone could make him do so was strange. But the vibe was something so different he couldn't define it. And yet, he could equate it.

It wasn't the first time he compared Ozpin to the Hōkage. Of course, back then it was the _idea_ of the man, rather than his face. He tried to divorce this association in his mind, separate fact from opinion and just filter out the man's words to Ruby.

But that wouldn't be doing it justice, because it was clear to Naruto that Ozpin had picked the scene of the discussion. It was just too big of a coincidence that both he and Jiji chose to have conversations associated with food, worming their way into their hearts through their stomachs. Everything from his carefully constructed demeanor to his blunted steel eyes was intentional.

The current mistrust of Ozpin as an outsider crept into his opinion of the Old Man, threatening to spoil it. But was he in need a wake-up call? Was the Hokage as manipulative as he suspected the Headmaster to be, or was he blowing the both of them out of proportion?

Uncertainty was not in his nature. It was something he'd had to live with for some time now, too much was unknown in his strange life. But again, the similarities kept cropping up, too numerous to be unconnected, too obvious to ignore.

Though what to do with them, he had no idea.

Nor had he any idea where he was going. He should have been headed to the training grounds to take advantage of the month off the finalists were given to improve their repertoire. He should have been doing what he had during the mission to Wave, training day and night. More rigorously if he could manage it.

But after all that had happened he could not focus on training right now. Despite the self-talk to the contrary, it still felt futile to work himself all on his own. Yamato had resolved not to favor either of his two students, and so would not train either one. Both he and Ruby agreed the shrewd man was not trying to be impartial, and simply waiting to see what they would do for themselves.

And that was the question. Without the more experienced ninja to help him, he was not convinced in the effectiveness of practicing what he already knew. Both he and Ruby had hit a plateau, even with Qrow's intensive 'care'. It would take a miracle to get them over the next hump.

A depraved giggle seemed to mock him, and he looked up from the ground for the first time since leaving his house.

"Oi, what are you staring at, Brat?"

Naruto glanced away, avoiding the piercing stare of the massive man who had stopped writing in his notebook to peer over the cover at him.

"Nothing. Sorry."

The intensity of the look was disturbing him. It had been a long while since he had to worry about the hatred from the villagers, ever since he won his headband. This sensation worried him, but for a different reason.

Again, one he could not quite place.

He averted his eyes and shoved his hands into his pockets, made to move on and ignore the pervasive niggling at the back of his neck. There was no reason to be afraid. He was a ninja after all, and he could handle himself.

Thus, it was only with half-shock that he found his body flickering out of the way as a blue ball of energy drilled through his after-image.

"Heh, not bad, Gaki."

Naruto was wary of this man, though ironically less worried now than he had been. He knew how to deal with someone attacking him, as his hand drifted to the scythe strapped around his hip.

"Good instincts. That's enough for now, though. Come on." The strange man tucked his brush and notebook away in a hidden pocket in his haori, beckoning Naruto with a stout finger. "Let's go somewhere to talk."

This was yet another new experience, something that he didn't know how to deal with.

It may have been a mistake, but he hopped off the roof and trailed a few steps behind the equally large shadow. Only time and understanding would tell if this was a good decision to follow the mysterious man or not. So many new people and new situations for him to parse through.

Why did they all have to have silver hair, though? It just felt too much like the fate Neji kept harping on.

* * *

 **And here we are. Speeding up, getting a little bit like Macbeth, neh? Hopefully with a little bit less blood and tragedy (again, no promises).**

 **So sorry to those who were looking forward to a rehash of the Chῡnin exams, but haven't we seen that enough? Nothing really changes (well, except for the fact that our Least-Favorite Snake doesn't mess with Naruto's seal, because he's not on the same team as Sasuke, mind). And we should wrap things up by the next chapter, just so that you're prepared for that. Things are accelerating, and it'll be a jerky stop when we get to where I want. So be ready for that.**

 **In fact, be ready for anything. That's probably the best advice I can give.**


	13. Allegory

***Phew!* Just got finished writing a report for Geological Resources on the material science behind ceramic body armor and updating my other story.**

 **Why do I do this to myself?**

 **Oh yeah, it's cause I'm a sycophant.**

 **Anyways, I wanted to keep this AN short, but I also promised to only respond to reviews personally if they had a question, but I feel that this deserves some kind of reply.**

 **MasterX01.** **Yeah, I get all of what you're saying. And to be fair, I will fully admit that I did not put as much effort into that battle as I could have- the chapter in general was something of a necessary evil for me. This is my compromise for a story that I really did intend to leave as a oneshot from the beginning.**

 **However, I do feel that I can disagree somewhat. From the very moment I started this, I knew I was going to have to curtail my flowery writing style** _ **severely.**_ **While you might feel it's too much, I present the argument that if you treat this like a legend or fable, the fights and battles there leave a lot to the imagination and that is a valid writing style. It is equally bad practice to describe someone's clothing in excruciating detail in a massive paragraph which blocks out the sun- especially when we KNOW what they're wearing (and frankly, a lot of the time it's just irrelevant. Other times it's excusable but not for one person after another like authors tend to do these days).**

 **And another thing: This is a crossover. If you don't know the series, WTF are you doing here? I didn't want to rehash either anime and I wanted to create something new, so I feel that it can be excusable to gloss over certain things that we should all know by now. Furthermore, as long as it is clear what the effect of an action is, it truly doesn't need to be described, again, because every detail does not need to be laid out in gory verbiage (which is ironic as hell coming from my mouth).**

 **But if I failed to live up to any of that, I am sorry. And I fervently apologize if this is coming out like I'm upset or angry at you- because there is no way in hell that I am.**

 **In fact, I'll draw attention from all you Brownnosers and flamers out there: this is a useful review. Pointing out an author's shortcomings and offering useful suggestions for fixing it. In fact, I'll go as far to say that this is one of my favorite comments ever.**

 **Not that I don't like the flattery. Lord knows I need my dosage of that too, and I love you all for it.**

 **So in that vein, let me stop putting my foot in my mouth and get this farce started.**

* * *

"What…what makes you so strong?"

Déjà vu. The sudden flash of which made him lightheaded and he fell to his knees.

Of course, it could also have been the vast amounts of Chakra he expended during the past few hours of the marathon battle he'd been thrust into. He was too tired to judge, but not so much so that he couldn't articulate himself.

"There are… persons that I wish to protect. People who are precious to me, and who are counting on me."

"Comrades?" The word was cumbersome on the redheaded boy's lips.

"Mm." Naruto agreed, closing his eyes and coming closer to the one who was always with him. "But also, more than that. Friends. Family."

It was ironic, him with the loosest connotations of those words, lecturing someone else on their importance. Maybe it was because he had such an outsider's opinion, he was the perfect person for the job.

"Family…"

"Yeah, you have that, don't you?"

He tried not to sound envious with his question. After all, he had it too. But it wasn't the same, was it? They would probably never see him as family, even if he could meet them face to face. How could someone with actual siblings turn out so… different?

"Family…" The boy repeated, making Naruto wonder if he broke him with the last punch. "But they… hate me. Fear me."

"Not forever, they won't."

He shook his head. Where once he was transfixed on those emerald caverns trying to digest him, Naruto now latched on to the crimson tattoo which lay just above. He found himself crawling over to it on hands and knees, the symbol so familiar as to be irresistibly enticing.

Strange. He should know what it meant, it was his native language after all. But so close to sleep as he was, he could only think in those blocky roman characters, absorbing the barest gist of the once natural yet complex pictograms.

The emptiness in Gaara's green gaze was replaced by fear as Naruto's hand inched closer, beady pupils watching the calloused hand hover over his face and contemplating his last few moments before it smothered him. The redhead let out a choking gasp as the finger affectionately traced the incised kanji above his left eye.

"Love…" The word felt foreign to both of them. "Because… love is stronger than hate, isn't it?"

The other boy was silent, which at this point could only mean he agreed with him. Neither noticed when this tranquil peace was disturbed.

"Back off."

He recognized the voice, even though it was a growl. And, like always, it brought him back to Earth.

"Tenten?" He flopped over on his side to get a look at what his comrade was referring to.

She was close enough to the two of them that her shadow covered both of their legs like a blanket, short sword drawn to ward off those who would disturb the tranquil moment. Her blonde adversary, the one who defeated her during the preliminary exams stood just a little way off. Despite the clear advantage she should have held, Temari looked hesitant to ignore the other kunochi's threat, and held her war-fan defensively.

But neither were backing down.

"Don't you dare hurt him."

The Konoha ninja's lahar gaze bearing down on her was overawing, but she was not about to give up her kin so easily. Temari's own threat did not carry as much weight as it did desperation, as she was also frightened of one who could stand toe to toe with her brother.

"Tenten." The weapon mistress looked ready to rebut physically until his voice halted her. "Let's… let's go home."

She looked at him with a mix of emotions, a few he could recognize cutting through the others. He could see the anger and vindictiveness sparkling dangerously through forceful droplets. It worried him at first, but then she blinked, and they were gone. She nodded, stooping down to pick up his apologetically limp form.

He mustered a smile of gratitude, but her eyes never left the other woman who slowly approached her brother when they backed away. Temari gave them both a hesitant nod after she had Gaara in her arms. He looked as small and fragile as a doll tucked in close to her breast.

Both let out a breath they hadn't consciously held when the other two departed, leaving them alone in the clearing made by warring giants.

"I'm sorry if I worried you." Naruto mumbled as Tenten sheathed her blade.

"I guess we're even now, huh?" She grinned cheekily and hiked him up further on her shoulder.

The only acknowledgement she got was some soft snoring at her side.

"Baka."

Unbeknown to both, as she bounded away back towards the plumes of smoke rising above their ravaged home, a pair of obsidian eyes followed. Questions rode that intensive glare, frustration carried in a clenched fist planted in the side of an unbending tree.

Why? Why was he so much stronger?

One message had been delivered, another was awaited.

* * *

"I'm sorry…?"

The man smiled knowingly behind the steaming mug poised in front of his lips.

"I realize that this must be a bit to take in for you, but please do try to pay attention, Ms. Rose. It does not reflect well on the offer I wish to make."

That was the understatement of the year. But he was right, and she couldn't exactly tell him what all was on her mind at the moment. Even though he was apparently about to reveal something of great magnitude to her as well.

"Yes, of course. I'm sorry, Headmaster."

"Ozpin, please." He chuckled after the cup left his lips. "Getting a bit presumptuous, are we? I'm not your headmaster quite yet." Ruby blushed and curled in on herself as much as the plush chair and proprieties would allow.

The fact that she could be so rattled by his simple teasing also didn't recommend her for the dire secret he wished to impart. But he figured that a girl as smart as her could already sense something amiss with his presence and bearing, so decided to take at least a little pity on her. He could afford to ease her into it. After all, he intended to have a hand in shaping her anyway.

"As I was saying, I was just curious as to how you became as exceptional as you are in such a short period of time."

She honestly didn't remember him ever saying that. Then again, she tended to tune out all praise for her abilities on instinct, regardless of its intent. She was too used to it in the resentful snipes from her peers, and the borderline sycophancy from some of the faculty.

She also didn't remember much after being told the man was waiting for her in the teacher's lounge, so he very well could have already told her a bunch of things she hadn't paid attention to. She would need to get her head in the game. It wasn't fair to expect Naruto to pay attention for her. Not after all that happened to him.

"Well, Head-um, Ozpin-sir, I'm not really that talented. It was my uncle Qrow and Dad-I mean Professor Taiyang who really trained me up. Oh! And my sister, Yang always helped me with my hand-to-hand sparring."

Ozpin smiled, ignoring the deferential slip-up. "It is good to see humility in one so young, but do not belittle your own accomplishments." He took another sip of his cocoa, gesturing for her to do the same. Ruby tentatively tasted the scalding hot drink. It was good- excellent even. But she could not eagerly slurp down the sugary beverage as there was a large lump in her throat.

"I guess what I'm really asking though is: what was your motivation to try so hard? While it is without a doubt your teachers who imparted the knowledge unto you, it would have meant nothing had you not been willing to listen to them, take that first step and apply your knowledge."

Ruby lingered on her drink longer than she was inclined to, taking the time to fathom how much she could tell him. Like Naruto, she was a terrible liar and so tended to stick as close to the truth as possible.

"Well," She began, setting the cup off to the side so it wouldn't distract her in her words. "it's like I said before. I want to help people because it's the right thing to do. I need to be strong in order to do so."

"But there are other ways of helping people. Why become a huntress?"

"Because…"

Because she'd been born into it? Not only because of her own mother and father, but Naruto's life inevitably guided her own. Because she'd had little choice? Because it was cool leaping away at the speed of sound and swinging a massive weapon back and forth? Because the training was punishment for a guilty conscience that couldn't help Naruto any other way? Because doing so she felt closer to him, closer to her mother, closer to everything in the world during that combat high as her senses breathed pure adrenaline?

The last two were perhaps closest to the truth, but they were all fractions of the whole. All were too much, and yet too little for what she could tell the expectant man.

"Because… I can. Because I have the ability, the desire to make the world a better place. I can't rely on other people to do it for me."

"I see…"

Ozpin felt that he had been correct about the girl. She was mature far past her unassuming looks, almost like she had far more years of experienced stacked behind those otherwise innocent eyes. Had he not known better, he might have been tempted to confuse her for Raven's daughter that first time. Talented, ruthless at times, uncannily observant.

But it was also obvious that she wasn't. There was the benevolent streak in her imparted by her mother which couldn't be taught even through the best of intentions.

"I believe you." He nodded to her stupefied expression, clearly wondering if there had been any doubt in his eyes. "I believe you have the true desire to do good. And it is because of this dedication that I wish to give you added motivation to continue doing well at Signal.

"I wish to share something with you, something that will either give you great reason to continue your fight, or one that could potentially break your resolve. Either way, it will determine beyond a doubt what kind of person you really are…"

Little did she know, there was always doubt. He was constantly second-guessing himself, wondering if there was any way to avoid the mistakes he had made in the past, ways to predict ones that he was going to make in the future. He doubted himself even now, pressing on despite the wide and fearful eyes now imploring him to give them back their ignorance.

He feared that he was making a huge mistake by telling her the truth about why he wanted her at Beacon. Scared that she was too young, that she might rebel at her destiny like the Spring Maiden. But all that fear was overshadowed by the larger one and thus tipped the scales past the point of no return.

Only time would tell, now.

"I want to tell you a secret."

* * *

Conspiracies. Gods. Demons. Magic. Living sacrifices.

After sitting in silence through Ruby's second chat with Ozpin the other day, Naruto thought he had heard it all.

He was wrong. Oh, how he was wrong.

Oh, how he wished he could go back in time and tear up that note before she ever read it. While it never would have stopped certain things from happening, maybe it would have been better to see their dream world as just that- a place to escape their reality individual instead of another set of piling another set of burdens on top of all the others.

How he wished they could both have their innocence returned, despite it being inevitable that it would be taken from them. What use was there in wishing for it back when they had burned that bridge long ago? They would have had to face the truth sooner or later, anyway.

But why did it all have to come at once? Life just seemed to like confirming that old adage: when it rains, it pours.

He didn't even care about the physical rain pelting his shoulders, soaking his virgin mourning garments as he stood in front of the funeral procession for his grandfather-figure. In fact, it helped his body sympathize with his mood, both of them trembling and weary.

And the rain helped hide his tears which he did not want to burden anyone with.

This would be the point where things diverge. Where Naruto learned that his and Ruby's lives were not, and could never be the same. Ozpin wasn't the Old Man, because Ozpin was still alive.

Ruby didn't have to deal with another Kingdom invading her home, didn't have to grieve the loss of the only person they could consider family in that world.

She would never have to accept that a calamitously powerful demon was sealed in her gut. Never have to accept the truth behind those icy stares and his necessary solitude.

Ozpin and the Hōkage had held things back from both, though. He should have realized that from the beginning. Should have trusted his instincts. But then again, he didn't know whose instincts those were anymore. Couldn't necessarily trust anyone.

For the first time he was simply Naruto. Naruto and no one else.

And yet, he was even less sure of who he truly was.

* * *

She felt like a stranger in her own body. Staring unfocusedly at the plate in front of her, watching her hand robotically feed food into her face, but not feeling it, not tasting it. She listened to the animated conversation around her, not hearing it. Mumbling words of agreement, but not saying anything.

"Ruby? Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." This was the first lie she had ever told. And yet, it didn't even feel like it was even her moving the mouth.

"Are you sure?" Her father frowned, setting his fork down on his plate and leaning his elbows on the table like he'd always admonished them not to do. "You've been pretty distracted ever since you got done talking with Ozpin. Did he say something to you?"

"No." She fidgeted under the stare. "Well, I mean yes, he did. But that's not really the problem." Not all of it, anyway.

"Well then, what is the matter?" She cringed, realizing she had unknowingly admitted there was in fact something.

"Nothing." She futilely tried to put the cat back into the bag.

"Ruby…"

Her father's disappointed tone which threatened to pierce her like an arrow was plucked out of the air by her sister's hand. She turned to the seat next to her.

"We're your family, Ruby. You know you can always share things with us."

If anything, that statement just made it worse. Of course she could tell them. But she couldn't. It was impossible. Why didn't they see that?

"If you don't want to talk with dad around, we could always kick him out." Yang tried with a crooked smile.

"Hey," Taiyang protested jokingly. "Well, whatever works…"

"No." Both frowned as Ruby continued to be obstinate. "I'm fine. Really."

"No, you're not." Her fork clattered onto her plate at that frank pronouncement from her sister. "Ruby, you're not okay. It's obvious to anyone, but for us, it's just painful." She felt a sharp stab at Yang's words.

"We're not going to press you to tell us. Whatever went between you and Ozpin is your secret to keep." She shot a glare to their frowning father. "But just know that it hurts us too, when you keep your problems bottled up like this. We both just want to find some way to help you, even if you can't tell us what the matter is. But please, Ruby, don't lie to us."

That was it. That was the furthest extent her resilience could take her. All the fears and trepidations she thought she had left behind caught up to her and overcame her. There was no burying things anymore beneath the monotony of training, or eschewing them with the problems of another.

She cried.

She bawled, sobbed into her plate, spilling out and staining the pristine table cloth which had been leftover from her maternal grandmother. She wasn't even aware when her father and sister stood up and circled around the table, enveloping her in their arms and letting her purge her sorrows under their protective cocoon.

It simply became too much to hold in any longer. All these things that she didn't know how to deal with, that neither of them knew how to deal with. She wanted to feel guilty having a shoulder to cry on when Naruto had nothing, but for once, she was thinking only of herself when she let those tears flow. She thought of herself all the way until it was his turn again, and she passed out in her father's muscled arms.

As she slept restively, letting out a whimper every now and then, Taiyang walked his youngest daughter up to her room and tucked her in carefully. He sat by her for a long while, doing his best to hum a small lullaby Summer once used to lay the girls down to sleep. He could only hope it was reaching a listening pair of ears down there, somewhere.

He wondered what Ozpin could have possibly said to his daughter to make her so upset, if indeed that was the cause. It was too close to be a coincidence, but it didn't make any sense. He trusted Ozpin with his life, even if he knew of some of the mistakes the headmaster had made in his lifetime.

Maybe he was the one at fault? He thought that Ruby had managed to get over the death of her mother. But in all honesty, he had not even managed to accomplish as much. So had he been purposefully ignoring the warning signs all this time? He knew his daughter confided in her diary more than she did either himself or her sister, and he never faulted her for that. Some people simply were better with writing than with conversation, and it was pretty clear Ruby fell into this category. It was beginning to seem like it wasn't enough, though.

And there it was. Just lying there. The green-moleskin notebook rested innocuously at the corner of her desk, never far away and enjoying a more prestigious position than all of her studiously completed homework, carelessly arranged comics and interspersed magazines.

Taiyang cared deeply for his daughters' wellbeing. It was because of this he believed fully in their right to independence. At least as much as a doting father could. He would still worry when Yang took her brand-new motorbike out on the town. He had already spent many a sleepless night waiting for her to return, and anticipated doing so well into her adult life. It was the price to pay for being a father. He wanted them to feel that the whole world was open to them, and so didn't tie her down with anything more than a warning.

It was a relief to know that Ruby had no such inclinations, limiting her private life to that mysterious diary she took everywhere with her. He had often admitted a curiosity as to what was so preciously guarded on those faux-velum pages, but never let it entice him to invade the girl's privacy.

Maybe a peek wouldn't hurt. Maybe it would. It could potentially shatter the carefully repaired relationship left after her mother died. It would betray everything he claimed to stand for. It could be justified in the name of helping her. But as they said, the path to Hell was pathed with good intentions.

In the end, fear makes us do foolish things.

* * *

The girl walked the overgrown path crimson cloak about her shoulders.

Winter air caressing the tall stalks of grass as she passed by. The snow fell silently through the evergreens, few flakes making it to melt and die on the forest floor.

Where was she going? What was she doing? Was she even in control, or was this another one of those visions where she could do nothing but watch and let the story play out according to a text written a long, long time ago?

The woods were endlessly the same, hour after hour. Day after day. Year after year. The overgrown path nothing to note.

How long had she been here? Seven years was the same thing as an eternity in her mind.

Seven years… had it really been that long already? Or was she just looking forward to that day more than anything else?

She stood in front of a fork in the road. At long last. The end of her curse.

"Where are you off to, little girl?"

"To my mother's house." She had not seen her mother in all of that time. It was a long time to be away.

The fox sat there on its haunches, chewing the words- _her_ words in its maw.

"What is in the basket?"

"Some bread, milk, a little cheese and butter." She supplied. "They are a gift for my mom."

She couldn't help but be honest. Words spilled from her without consent, without thinking. Even hidden underneath the shade of the cloak and the pall of the magnificent trees, her soul was lain bear in front of the vulpine creature.

"Tell me, will you be taking the path of pins…" One of the many tails gestured to the right. "… or the path of needles?"

Both looked the same from where she stood. Equally dark.

Like her words, her path had already been chosen for her.

"I'm taking the path of pins."

The fox smiled, a toothy grin which chilled her to the bone.

It would hurry on, down the path of needles, and would eat up the little girl's mother.

* * *

Seven years. Seven years since that fateful day when her perfect world was shattered. Ages since she learned that even what remained was not her own, that it was orchestrated by whims of beings far above her comprehension.

She would only learn to believe in those gods and demons much later, just two years ago when her life was turned upside down yet again. A full two years during which she would shutter everything else out of her life. Her family, her friends, and yes, even _him_. As much as she could.

What should have been an easy four semesters in Signal would become a painfully long and unwilling stay in a psychiatric ward in Vale.

Her father and sister didn't want to call it that, but that's what it was. They used euphemisms which could never reassure her. There, they would make her forswear the truth about another world. Force her to take medication to balance her out, sleep soundlessly, dreamlessly. Force her to forget.

It wouldn't work. Nothing would sever her connection from that other life, the one she knew to be as real as her own. But she would have to pretend like she couldn't, make believe that Naruto wasn't writing her notes in her dreams and that she did not want to write him back.

They would burn her diary. Years of her life, of his life, gone in an excruciatingly long moment.

What was worse, she would let them. She would let them sever that connection in the hope that she would no longer burden Naruto to worry about her. She hoped he would do the same. Hoped that, even if they couldn't go back to the way things were, they could move on from that excruciating monotony. Back off from the chink in the wall and turn towards the future.

Eventually, he would. He would give up trying, at least. Live his own life like he was meant to, make friends with people she never would have believed possible. The friendships he had already made would become even stronger, people closer to him than she could ever hope to be.

The was the way it looked to her, at least.

She tried to pretend like those were pleasant dreams. That she was happy as long as he was. Because he had others at long last. Somewhere, deep down in her gut, she wanted to believe that quitting one another cold turkey was the way to go. Part of her wanted to believe she had imagined it all, and that her worries were limited to what concerned Ruby Rose.

Late at night, she would stare at herself alone in mirror. Stripped bare of all pretense, of all trappings physical and mental, and try to see what lay past that flesh and blood. What existed behind the tarnished silver stare, if anything did.

Part of her would never let go, never move on. But that part would be buried by the responsibilities pressed upon her after her 'rehabilitation'.

Ozpin kept his promise. That was one of the few things she could be grateful to him for. Rather, she would be, if she didn't feel like she owed him a great debt by attending his school.

But she wasn't the same girl he had met those years ago. She knew that he saw the difference. She witnessed the melancholy reflection of herself in his eyes. Yet he would still have her in his academy. Better to keep her close, now that she knew his secret.

Though she didn't pretend to know all of them.

She had learned long ago that the world was far more complex than any one person could know. There would always be the unknown.

There would always be fear, and loneliness.

* * *

 **Wow. That got…depressing.**

 **But I won't lie. I was kind of expecting something like this from the beginning. Ironically, I started this whole story with the thought that maybe Naruto and Ruby seeing into one another's lives was the** _ **reason**_ **they were both upbeat all the time. If it had stayed as a oneshot, you all would be left with that warm and fuzzy feeling, so now you have no one to blame but yourselves.**

 **Also in a fit of irony it was as I was responding to a viewer review that I realized that things couldn't just be so hunky-dory and things needed to start** _ **happening**_ **. At least, not if someone found out about this little connection, which was pretty much inevitable. Because I mean, really, who would believe it? (Yes, of course in both universes there are a few who would, but I think you already know where I'm going with this if you pay attention).**

 **Also adding to the list of things that will doubtlessly spoil your innocence (I'm kidding, you're on the internet, that thing is long gone), have any of you heard the** _ **real**_ **tale of Little Red Riding-Hood? I'm talking** _ **pre**_ **-Brother's Grimm version. It's more decidedly … grim (sorry, kind of had to). But seriously, it is really messed up what actually happens (not going to spoil it here, but it doesn't have a happy ending). I adapted this one from the movie Jin-Roh: the Wolf Brigade, which is an awesome anime movie if you have never seen it. And in case you are wondering, yes, it does and will have a bearing in the story.**

 **But as to whether or not it really happened, or if she even imagined it at all, that's something I'm going to leave to you to figure out.**

 **And what's with my Shakespearean mood lately? Anyone catch the last reference to a Midsummer Night's dream (actually reference within a reference to Pyramus and Thisbe)?**

 **One day…you will understand all of it…when you get… a lot of them…**


	14. Metaphorical

**So… hey, how are you doing?**

 **Sorry, didn't mean to torture you for so long. Meant to post this on Friday. Then Saturday. Then here in the US, daylight savings time hit which was like a sucker-punch to the nards.**

 **And yeah.**

 **I'm back!**

* * *

"This is so awesome! I can't believe I'm going to Beacon with my little Sis!"

The volume, or more likely the thought, made Ruby wince. Her enrolment had not bee a foregone conclusion, and her father had been more than a little reluctant to let her attend even with both Ozpin and the board of directors for the hospital approving her.

She had to wonder how many strings the headmaster pulled to get that to happen. Huntsman and huntresses had to be rigorously screened for mental suitability, and she was pretty sure her little 'vacation' should have left a permanent black mark on her record.

"Yeah, it's pretty great, isn't it?" Even then she would be lying if she said she wasn't a little pleased to finally be moving on with her life. Maybe the story would have a happy ending after all.

"Of course it is! Oh, I just know everyone's gonna love you. They're going to think you're the bee's knees!"

Ruby wasn't as hopeful as her sister, but at the same time, did not want to spoil her good mood. Beacon was a much different place than the closely-knit community at Signal. And even there, her prodigal status set her apart. Not always in a good way.

What would her fellow students think should they learn of where she had been for the last two years? Of course, in the past she rarely cared about the opinions of others. Even now, she could count few that mattered on one hand and have room to spare.

Strange, though she hadn't so much as acknowledged that _other_ in all the time in between, now, here on the precipice of something grand and frightening, his influence on her life could not be ignored. Muscling past all the mid-numbing logic which questioned whether or not she had just imagined him, she yet desired to know one thing.

Would he be happy for her?

"Hey, who's that?"

Glynda Goodwitch. Though the hologram informed them as much just moments after her inner voice did.

Funny. She'd never stopped to consider, but that voice in her head had never been her own. Always a symphony of male and female which spoke more deliberately and grandiosely than her whiny pubescent voice could ever manage. A narrative voiced by Ruby Rose sounded silly, to her.

The spiel delivered from Glynda's recorded image passed her by as she continued to stare nostalgically out the window. Looking at those skyscrapers of Vale which had once been as magical as the castles in her bedtime stories. They had since been spoiled, maybe magic itself had betrayed her.

A timid hand on her shoulder, so uncharacteristic of Yang that she almost didn't recognize the touch and her own hand darted to _Crescent Rose_ in Pavlovian instinct.

"It's good to have you back, Ruby."

She looked back at the morose expression on her sister's face, brimming with pent-up emotions she forgot the older teen even possessed. She returned the cautious smile, placing her smaller hand on top of the other and giving it a gentle squeeze.

Did Yang think she was upset with her for her part in the temporary exile? Was she? Ignoring that question, she could never bring herself to hate anyone, much less her older sibling who'd always been there for her through thick and thin. Actions may ultimately define a person, but she still placed a lot of importance on the intangible quality: intent.

"Ow!"

Therefore, it wasn't intentional that her seemingly frail hand clamped down on her sister's to the point where joints popped like firecrackers. No, this was just a perfectly natural response to seeing a ghost.

"It can't be…" She whispered to herself, aghast, as the specter glided through the crowd.

"Coming through!"

"Eew! Gross!"

Thankfully, the distraction of vomit spilling from the rude interruption allowed Yang to leap back and rescue her hand before any permanent damage was done.

The physical shock was also enough to shove Ruby out of her myopia and realize that while there was an uncanny resemblance in the disheveled blond hair and flash of blue eyes, the young male was far too tall. Their was lankiness where there should have been compact muscle, abashedness where there should have been confidence, and ignorance when there could have been no question.

Letting out a sigh of relief which was mimicked by her sister who had finished checking herself for spillage.

She didn't believe in fate. That being said, life seemed to like screwing with her inordinately much.

* * *

" _Here, Brat."_

 _Naruto shook away the heady stars encroaching on his vision on that obscenely hot afternoon, looking up to see the refreshing treat being offered to him._

" _Thanks." He replied hesitantly, retrieving the gayly colored popsicle from Jiraya's massive paw._

" _Why don't you take a break? At least wait until the sun goes down and it cools off a little."_

 _Naruto nodded and soon joined his master on the felled tree trunk where they sat in relative silence while taking slow licks from their respective confections. Relative, because although no words were exchanged between them, there was a mute conversation shot back and forth and tension which belied the considerate gesture._

" _I gotta say, you weren't quite what I expected."_

 _That wasn't what_ _ **he**_ _expected._

" _Eh, what do you mean by that, you old pervert?" He grew worried as the man did not leap to correct the fact he was actually a Super-Pervert._

 _Jiraya just smiled softly, looking at the weeping popsicle in his hand in nostalgia._

" _You do a good job of keeping secrets. Even from yourself."_

 _Naruto felt his face drop at this declaration, ignoring the melt dripping over his fingers as his own snack went neglected. And despite the sweltering heat, a chill ran up his spine._

" _You really seemed like you were a happy-go-lucky kid, just like I'd heard." Jiraya sighed, pausing to take an apathetic lick. "Maybe you even think you are- or want to be. I suppose that's better than most these days." His weary smile faltered. "But it's not enough. Not if you want to live up to that Nindō you keep spouting. Not if you want to conquer the cycle of hatred…" He muttered the last part, mostly to himself but obviously didn't care if Naruto heard him._

" _What are you getting at, Jiraya?" His question was stark, cold as the ice-box the man had likely retrieved the frozen treats from._

 _The sage paused, frowning deeper as he looked over at Naruto's severe stare, tinged with fear._

" _Don't worry. I didn't read those notes you think that you keep secret." Naruto choked and nearly let the plywood stick out of his grip. Jiraya huffed a small laugh. "Can't say I'm not impressed, though. Didn't think a brat like you'd have brains enough to think up a new code that even I couldn't break. Albeit, not like I tried all that hard."_

 _Naruto began breathing again, relief drooping as he realized that the majority of his popsicle had melted away in his distraction. Like all that was solid in his life, disappearing into thin air._

 _He felt kind of bad about that. It was obvious the old man had meant it as something endearing. But it was still his fault for dragging something so inflammatory to the surface._

" _At first I thought they were letters to a girl." Jiraya chuckled, and Naruto let out a sweat drop that had nothing to do with the heat, precipitated by how close he was to the truth. "Still not entirely certain it's_ _ **not**_ _, but whatever it is, I can tell it's what's distracting you."_

 _It was true. Even if he wasn't writing as frequently as he used to- hardly at all considering Ruby never wrote back or indicated that she was watching anymore, it still loomed high in his mind, eclipsing most of his accomplishments._

 _Being taught the Shadow-Clone technique and the secret which made it such a leveraging learning tool had barely kept him ahead of the curve. So considerable an obstacle was his occupation with his otherworldly counterpart. The preoccupation transferred over into all those solid copies and when time came to absorb all of their knowledge, the extraneous thoughts too came along for the ride. Having all those minds was useless if none of them could focus on a task._

" _I really don't know what I can say to help you here, if you aren't willing to share it with me." Jiraya conceded, also gazing at his barren stick with mild disgust. "I… realize that I haven't given you much reason to rely on me. But I just want you to know, kid, that I understand the pain you're going through. Some of it, anyway."_

 _He turned to Naruto's guarded gaze, trying to reach out to that yearning boy he could see still trapped behind the defensive wall._

" _Whether it's about a woman, a promise, a missed opportunity, hell even a man- won't judge- believe me when I say that you can't let the 'what-ifs' rule you. You've got to live your life going forward, seize every day. Though I'm not saying you have to do it like me, one of has to be halfway responsible after all." This did eke out a reluctant smile on the blond._

" _But my advice is still the same. Regrets will only drag you down. They'll tie you to your failings and keep you drowning in the past. Only ghosts live down there, kid. Angry ghosts and the curse of repeating history."_

* * *

"… Naruto?"

"Hm?"

His teammates looked at him concernedly- rightfully so considering he was just toying with the ramen in front of him and letting the precious food cool to the point of becoming a soggy, inedible mess.

"Are you okay?" Neji asked him as if he'd just witnessed him losing an arm.

"Oh yeah, fine. Believe it." He gave their skeptical looks a toothy smile, one which he extracted from the genuine happiness found in that same memory so that it wouldn't quite be called fake. "Just thinking about stuff."

Neither of them looked particularly accepting of this answer but knew that they were not going to pry the story from the blond if he didn't want them to. That had been something they'd all learned the hard way after working together after being apart for so long.

Naruto felt guilty giving them that sort of tacit ultimatum. Especially since they'd chosen to have the celebratory meal for Neji's Jōnin promotion at Ichiraku's. He could have placated himself with the notion that it was also his return celebration after almost two and a half years apart, but that didn't help much.

"I'm good, guys. Really." His smile relaxed, which ironically made them do so as well. It was far more genuine than the obligatory shit-eating grin he'd worn even after the Chῡnin exams.

And it was the truth, at least the way he saw it. He was happy- adequately happy reliving the recent trip with Jiraya. He wasn't fool enough to ignore the familial way the man treated him during its course. Despite hiding behind his vices and aloof instruction, he knew the man was trying to make up for something. Lost time, perhaps. In any case, trying to follow the advice he gave Naruto that day. Trying to live for the now, for the future.

He still didn't know exactly where his future would take him. Where he wanted it to go.

It was still just so impossible to think of one where Ruby didn't fit in, in some way.

* * *

"Well… here I am."

She spoke to herself. By herself. Yang had already shot off to join her friends who had also matriculated on up to the big leagues.

Though she hadn't gone far enough to be out of sight. Her sister's iconic blonde mop always lingering in the corner of her eye as she wandered around the open courtyard. Where once she might have found the nervous helicoptering a nice gesture, now it was just another reminder how fresh those wounds were.

And she didn't need to be reminded that she had no friends to speak of- not here or anywhere. What flimsy bonds she had made had quickly eroded when the rumor of her incarceration spread throughout the school. No one would want to be associated with the 'psycho girl'.

"Hey there."

She froze. Fate, karma, or whatever you wished to name it, decided she didn't have enough to worry over and set about fixing that in the most obnoxious way possible.

"Name's Jaune Arc. Sweet. Smooth. Roles off the Tongue. Ladies love it."

Her mouth cracked open in disbelief, or perhaps in response to a gag reflex which was waiting for her stomach to catch up with her face. Had she been a lesser woman, she would have broken out in tears right then and there. Glaring differences aside, that goofy, smiling blond was too much of an affront to her laboriously constructed mental barricades. She just couldn't bear up under the oblivious cheer for any length of time.

"No."

She muttered under her breath, brushing stiffly past with a graven face the older teen who was equally taken aback with this flat denial.

"O-okay."

She would feel bad for him. Later. When she wasn't superimposing _his_ whisker marks on that perplexed expression.

Not a good way to start her new academic life here, but she couldn't bring herself to care. She was willing to put on a brave face for the sake of those who put their faith in her. But there was a difference in doing something difficult to be courageous and doing something difficult to punish yourself. This felt like the latter.

Though as anyone who has tried to get a thought out of their head can tell you, the more she tried not to think on the older boy, the more she found herself whispering his absurd introduction to herself under her breath. Like a commercial jingle which was so attractive as a child now haunting you as an adult.

The background chatter became so much of a distraction that she walked right in front of a luggage cart hurriedly being pushed in her direction.

"Watch where you're going, you klutz!"

"I-I'm sorry." She offered breathlessly, inwardly noting that whoever it was had been equally culpable in their collision.

"Sorry?! Do you even realize what you've done?!"

Not really, no. Life had been one big, blurring headache for the past two years and right now she was trying to maintain the lofty high which came from that sweet relief from pain. She frankly had no idea to what the other woman referred, other than the obvious.

Her expression said as much. She must have looked stupid as she gazed up at the fuming white-haired girl from the ground with head cocked quizzically to the side.

"Uuuhhh…"

"This is Ultra-Refined Weapons-Grade Dust, and extremely volatile! Were you trying to blow us up?"

There was no good answer to that. Maybe she was? Subconscious trying to betray her like it had so many times before.

She also could have gone back to the argument that it took the both of them to run into one another. She could have mentioned it was negligent to keep such materials in containers which could be opened so easily by the slightest jar. She could have pointed out that the way the girl was now waving around said vile while admonishing her was just as foolish- nay idiotic considering she as the owner ought to know better.

But she had no words. Everything was all just too new for her. Too much for her whitewashed mind which had been deprived of stimuli for so long in the foolish hope that it would discourage her from making any more 'imaginary friends'.

"Wait-where are you going?! I haven't dismissed you yet!"

The other girl's voice lashed indignant and inflammatory remarks as she walked away mechanically, her social skills on temporary shutdown. There would be a slight flinch when an explosion sounding behind her touched off her battle-honed instincts (something they couldn't completely overwrite, much to Ozpin's and her relief) and mussed the crimson cloak around her shoulders.

Apart from that, she wouldn't even notice the other raven-haired girl with the bow slink away. Nor the return of her sister who fell seamlessly into step with her while pretending she hadn't been moments away the whole time.

"Soooo… make any new friends?"

Yang cringed at the look she was getting. Even she could feel the inanity in her question.

"Well… you never know until you try." She tried to recover ungracefully.

After a good minute of a guilt-ridden lip-bite from Yang, Ruby relented with a sigh.

"Maybe I'll have better luck later." Both could sense the feebleness in that promise.

Before, Ruby might have bonded with people over her obsession with weapons during a good-natured spar. It had obviously been a while since she'd been allowed to do that.

During her involuntary stay, Yang had taken care of _Crescent Rose_ since weapons weren't allowed at the recovery center. She was pretty sure that was the only reason Ruby was even talking to her right now. She should simply be glad that her juvenile sister hadn't yet drawn her weapon for one reason or another. What had been a twitchy trigger finger before must surely be painful lust by now from abstaining for so long. And there was pity for whoever broke that reluctant chastity.

"Just… promise me you'll try. Okay?" She asked weakly- too weakly for the strong woman.

Ruby stopped walking and turned halfway back, biting her lip in the same way her sister and mother did when they were facing a burdensome task.

Nodding slightly to her sister's relief, Ruby turned away.

It wouldn't be fair to Yang if she didn't at least try. Otherwise the older girl would carry her guilt for the rest of her life, follow her like a mother hen and grow up resentful because she'd never had the chance to live for herself.

No, Ruby was not inclined to be a burden. And if that meant taking more on for herself, so be it.

* * *

"It's like a big slumber-party!"

Ruby stopped fluffing her doggy-pillow and looked around as if she hadn't already scoped out every corner of the grand ballroom upon entering.

She shrugged, agreeing half-heartedly. She couldn't remember having many slumber parties when she was a kid, so maybe she was too young or off doing her own thing. Living vicariously for herself.

Cutting that thought short she returned to her mindless task and attempted to think on the unusually short speech Ozpin had just given them. Trying to remember why it sounded familiar. Back then, she'd had a second chance to remind herself of such things- but those days were gone.

"Mmm… gotta say, so far I'm not minding the _diversity._ " Yang filled the empty space in the conversation as she lecherously ogled the half-naked males. Truthfully, she was just trying to spark a reaction from her sister. "Such a selection…though I might just have to start marking my territory here. What do you think, Ruby? Any in particular I should leave for you?"

The girl looked at her elder with an almost scathing look which was a far cry from the stuttering blush that Yang was expecting.

"I think that you shouldn't treat them like pieces of meat. You wouldn't want them to do the same, would you?"

"O-okay." Yang conceded instantly, not knowing where this attitude had come from, but certain she didn't want to be on the other side of it. "Just a joke, right? Don't have to tell dad on me."

Deflecting the mention of her father which only threatened to sour her mood further, Ruby nodded curtly and turned back to gathering her toiletries.

She knew that she was overreacting. Both to the mention of her parent, and to the obviously good-natured remark by her older sister. To get upset like that wasn't her- it wasn't even a relic left from her other persona. It was a perversion of the worst parts of each, and it disgusted her. But she couldn't help it in her current, muddled state.

"I'm going to brush my teeth." She informed while trying not to sound brusque.

"Right."

Yang considered following her sister. Didn't. Just watched her sister walk away alone.

"Hey,"

Ruby froze on her way to the bathroom, fist clenched and head bowed as she considered the accosting voice from the dark corner where only candlelight flickered.

She was tired. Tired of that day and all the hoops she'd had to jump through. Tired in general, and just wanting to go to bed and let her dream identity continue with his happy reunion so that one of them might enjoy their confuddled life.

"What?" She asked, with more irritation than she knew was warranted.

Chatoyant eyes blinked in the darkness.

"Sorry." The silky voice said without inflection. "You were that girl from before, right? The one yelled at by the Schnee. I just wanted to know if you were alright, you looked pretty out of it afterwards."

Ruby considered the other girl's words. Though she didn't know what a Schnee was, it was clearly a genuine gesture of concern. She might have been tired and cranky, but she also knew a prime opportunity to make a friend when it was presented to her on a silver platter.

"I'm fine, thanks." She bowed her head a little in the direction of the glowing eyes and candles. "Oh, and I'm Ruby, by the way."

"…Blake."

"So, Blake…" She walked closer to the small vigil, regarding her new acquaintance in the soft light. "What'cha reading?"

"A book."

Ruby could tell that the older girl was hesitant, now that she realized her token politeness had jeopardized her carefully secured solitude.

"I like books. My mom used to read to me all the time." She looked wistfully to the ceiling before silver eyes snapped back to the candlelight. "Is it good?"

She slid in next to the black-haired woman, trying to appear as inoffensive as possible. Not a hard thing to accomplish as her frail-looking body had not improved in that prison-like institution.

"Yeah." Blake answered with less reluctance than before, more at ease talking about a subject she was familiar with. Ruby knew that feeling.

"What's it about?"

She gently closed the text and turned it over to the cover which was so well-worn that not one word could be made out. And yet those piercing yellow eyes seemed to pick out even the barest gold flakes in the encroaching darkness.

"It's about a man with two souls."

Fate… seriously loved to screw with her.

* * *

" _I really must thank you, Ms. Rose."_

"… _Why?"_

 _There was just the barest hint of hope in the otherwise dead question which Ozpin seemed to contemplate for a minute before answering._

" _Because, in these past months you never once divulged my secret, even under the oath of confidentiality. You never even hinted at it, nor me except when asked directly."_

" _They didn't want to know about the truth. Only about my lies."_

 _She responded unhesitatingly staring at the cold tile floor, not bothering to question how he would know the contents of a private session._

" _You really believe what I told you is the truth."_

"… _Yes."_

 _There was a languid delay before the answer. In which time, Ozpin considered the view out of the open window- open, but barred to prevent patients from leaving._

" _You sound hesitant." He watched as a bird landed on the branch of an oak outside. "What part do you not trust?"_

 _Ruby quit looking at her visitor and stared at her hands, watching, feeling as they wrung out the wispy robe._

"… _Could it be, that it isn't what_ _ **I**_ _told you that's the issue." Footsteps and the clacking of a cane approached her. "Instead, you wonder on your own truth."_

 _Naruto remembered watching her hands writhe and spasm like they were being electrocuted- perhaps that would have been an easier torture than what they unwittingly put her through in that place. He remembered choking- even when he hadn't been breathing in the first place. He remembered it as some of the longest seconds in his- in either of their lives. This would be the moment which, if she was going to bury him forever, she would._

" _So tell me, what is stopping you, Ms. Rose?" The moment broke as a comforting hand was lain on her shoulder, enveloping completely the bony protuberance._

" _I remember… not long ago, a young girl telling me about how foolish it was to judge things so quickly. How one could not simply take what was assigned by others as the truth."_

" _But… how am I supposed to know what's real and what's not? All my life I've relied on others to tell me the answers, but now everyone's telling me what I know is wrong._

" _Then you show up and tell me this crazy, unbelievable fairy tale is the truth- and for some reason I want to trust you! Why? How can I? When everyone else is saying one thing, how can I just pick and choose what to believe?"_

 _Ozpin let her vent and exhaust the raw energy which had been waiting on that confession. Then he spoke the answer he had prepared so long ago._

" _I think I'll tell you another tale- don't worry, this is just a fun story." He amended at her distraught whine._

" _Not long ago, there was a girl. And one day, she decided to take a walk through the woods. Just to pass the time, and for no other reason._

" _Suddenly, in the clearing ahead she spied a unicorn. She was of course astounded, and fearful that it might just be a trick of the imagination. So, she daren't approach and settled to watch it from afar._

" _Before she knew it though, the creature became spooked by something and had galloped away out of sight._

" _Continuing her walk in a dreamlike state, she wondered whether or not it really had been just that- a dream. She couldn't possibly have seen a unicorn, because they didn't exist. Yet, the creature had a horn, did it not? Right there, in the center of its head. The clearing was bright as day, and no shadows fell across to mislead her vision. No, in fact the creature had turned to her for a little bit in which she looked into its eyes and it all but told her what it was. She had definitely seen a unicorn._

" _Which was even more strange, for this path she had taken was one she had walked many, many times before and not seen anything. In fact, it was a very popular trail, and so it was no surprise when she happened across another traveler just a little way down the path._

"' _You'll never believe it,' The young woman said to the girl, 'but just now I thought I saw a unicorn!'_

" _Thus, the girl was vindicated in her belief. And, yet…"_

" _And yet, what?"_

 _Ozpin smiled as Ruby's eyes perked up from the floor and in that question hitched the first hint of interest she'd shown in months._

" _And yet, she didn't feel any better, nor worse than that first moment when she solidified her belief. In fact, knowing that this other woman had undoubtedly seen the same thing as she had, spoiled the miracle in her mind._

" _But that wasn't to be the end of it. For as the two continued on side by side, they ran into more and more travelers on their journey, all of whom had seen the same equine creature._

" _Though you might never know it, because with each new encounter came a new voice of so called reason. 'Someone is obviously playing a trick on us.' 'Unicorn? Don't be daft, it's just a horse with an arrow in it's head!' 'I don't know about the horn, but it was certainly a big, white horse.' 'Horse? I thought it was donkey!' 'Oh, that poor beast, people should be more careful where they practice their archery!'_

" _Before she knew it, she began to doubt what she had saw not ten minutes ago. She listened more and more to the argument now nucleated around her and the voices using logic to disarm every thought which ran contrary to what they had already seen with their own eyes. And so, in the end, that day would fall into an ordinary truth. And no one would bother to remember the wondrous delusion which is life."_

* * *

"Ow!"

"Ow? Tch, serves you right. If this had been a real battle, you'd have been saying a lot more than just 'ow'."

Naruto rubbed his behind indignantly, trying to hide the chagrin from knowing the other boy was right.

"Meh, you just cheated!"

The deadpan expression, only broken by a quirked eyebrow, pierced and deflated his artificial ire.

"…I still say those copycat eyes are cheating." He grumbled disdainfully as he accepted the offered hand up off the ground.

"You didn't seem to think so last time." Sasuke smirked and doffed some clinging leaves off his comrade's back.

"Mm, Nah, I thought so back then, too. I just didn't say anything." Naruto straightened his jacket, but even his skin felt ill-fitting that moment. "I'd have sounded like a show-off. Someone has to show a little humility around here."

"Hmph. I see." An uncomfortable silence fell between them as they stared across from one another.

Uncomfortable for Naruto because he knew he had messed up what was supposed to be an epic reunion – a fight which would have echoes of their previous one so long ago and would determine their respective progress after so long apart. A rivalry revisited, now that he could finally recognize it at last for what it was.

"…You were remembering back then, weren't you?"

"…Yeah."

He might have felt bad for fibbing to his friend, but it was more of twisting words. Admittedly not a good excuse, it was a drop in the bucket compared to everything else. He lived in every moment, even if Jiraya and everyone including himself didn't believe it. It was just hard sometimes to know which moments he had already visited.

"Liar." Naruto flinched at the blunt accusation.

"-That time, what you told me." Sasuke, too, was looking somewhere else, somewhere long since gone by.

"When I considered going to Orochimaru, I approached you first because of the strength you showed against Gaara. Not because of any sort of false-humility." Naruto rubbed the back of his head, but suddenly it felt like even that gesture was a show.

"And when I asked, you said to me that you'd become strong to protect your precious people. You said that my hate and anger would never surmount it, and as long as I followed that path I would never beat you. I decided to test that theory."

It was true, he'd still held hope back then. Hope of fixing things through pure determination.

The breeze sharpened into a gust that rent the air between them.

"…and I lost."

And it scattered.

"I believed you." Naruto's grip on his kusarigama slipped just so when the crimson flashing at him winked out. "You proved to me that you were stronger with your conviction, back then. And I decided to give it a chance. But then you went away, and I let you, with the faith and your promise that you would continue to get stronger alongside me, despite the distance between us.

"But that isn't what happened, is it? Where is this newfound strength you should have achieved? I was hardly lifting a finger, and yet could have beaten you several times over since we started. So is that it? Is this the limit of your ideal? Or are you just mocking me, UZUMAKI NARUTO?!"

His heart fluttered with each beat of his enunciated name. He thought he knew shame, but Sasuke managed to remind him that there was always something beneath that gutter he looked out from. He shook the muck from his shoulders but couldn't yet find his way to the surface.

"So are you going to keep living in the past? Because if you want to catch up, know that I am far ahead of where you were last time." Emphasizing his point, his vision once clenched in barely-restrained fury exploded in shower of Martian light and that fickle breeze churned up all around. Leaves danced like the tomoe in his eyes.

"You've lagged behind, Uzumaki, that much I can tell even without my so called 'cheating' eyes. There's little chance now that your ideals will ever get you to my level in time to make any difference. So maybe it's just better if you quit now and admit that you were wrong."

Maybe his time away had been squandered- himself too mired in that ennui of remembrance to take advantage of all that he **did** still have. Maybe the only connection he had left with Ruby was one-sided, and she had moved on from him. For whatever degree of good that was for either.

The point was that she had moved on. He saw her stepping down the palisade which led to Beacon with no small amount of trepidation. After all she had been through- all he had put her through in that horrid place they dared to call an institute of healing.

No doubt she had a long road ahead. They both did. Though his image might not still be there to inspire her with the strength to get back up, and though someday her speed might outstrip the last threads of that gossamer bond between them, he was obligated not to mistreat that conviction bred during their time together. It was their inspiration, their creation, their child, and their truth. Perhaps the only one they could count on.

But no. There was something else he could count on now. And it was staring down at him with blazing determination to rival his own. Sasuke might have been pissed at him, and rightfully so, but it was a passion which was truly part of caring. Compassion for his hard-won comrade.

Naruto was lucky to have him. He was lucky to have all of them. Tenten, Neji, Yamato, Iruka, Jiraya, Tsunade, and so many more. And even if it was just for a time, he was lucky to have Ruby. He could only hope she felt the same. But he would no longer dwell on the past, and never give up hope for a future with her once more. Now he had other people who were dependent on him.

"Quit? Yeah right…" He felt the autumn leaves get tossed in the thermals swirling around him, scent of fall mingling in his nostrils as they flared in a revived gust of upheaval.

"This story's just getting started!"

* * *

 **Bah. What's with me? Now I'm quoting Marx as well as Shakespeare? Well, technically that little tale is from** **Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead** **. Yay, existentialism! Fun little read if you've been forced to read** **Hamlet** **and want to mock it a bit. It's also about Quantum Physics, but you have to squint** _ **really**_ **hard.**

 **And for God's sake, NO! I'm not done, not by a longshot! While in my absence I have not been idle. Rejuvenated life for myself and my writing is on the horizon. If I can just make it to Spring Break…**


	15. Haiku

**¡Gracias mis amigos! Me encanta que ustedes disfrutar esta cuenta todo mucho. Espero que yo poder escribir mas en las semanas próximas, pero no te prometo escribir en español. Ya tengo un largo camino delante, y ha sido mucho tiempo desde pensaba en otra luenga. Sin embargo, yo espero que ustedes continúen leer y divertirse.**

 **Moving on…**

 **I don't know why I have to make a note of it here, I haven't commented on it on Facebook or any other social media, or really talked much at all with the people I know. But in case you have been insulated from the news for the past few days (not that I can blame you), a very important person is no longer with us. Stephen Hawking died just yesterday, and I'm pretty sure I have yet to come to terms with it. Para mi, you can hang all your politicians and movie stars, pop idols and the like. But when it comes to someone who has done so much to forward our knowledge of the universe, it just rakes at my heart. All the others are a dime a dozen. But how often do we get someone with such brilliance and tenacity that they can be admired by everyone? It is impossible to deny that the man was as iconic, if not more so than just about any single other person of our generation.**

 **Let's also remember that he lived longer with Lou Gehrig's disease than just about anyone else, as far as I know. And what was keeping him going more than anything else was a desire to learn and improve.**

 **We should all aspire to such tenacity. Never go gently into that good night.**

 **And if that wasn't joyful enough, here's the new chapter!**

 **I know, I know. I promise I'm working on adding some humor in here. But don't worry, this chapter's a shorty, so nothing too much can go wrong (can it? I feel like that's a challenge). That being said, next few chapters are already written, so I just hope I can add some laughs in there before I give someone an aneurism.**

 **So at the very least, you'll get more depressing words in short order. That's a good thing, right?**

 **~Hasta Luego mi compañeros**

* * *

 **What did you expect?**

 **In their eyes, a perfect world**

 **Has no room for yours**

* * *

A girl walks down the row of lockers. Swims like a salmon against the tide.

This is her natural habitat. These are trying times, but this is where she thrives. No thinking, no doubt, from her or anyone else.

"I missed you." Cold metal returns her greeting.

Her sister does not begrudge her attachment to the inanimate object. A Huntress's concern for her defense was perfectly natural. More so for Ruby. The weapon was a totem of their mother and of normalcy. It was something real, at least.

"Excited?"

She needn't have asked. Ruby beamed up at her and nodded, like so long ago. Like no time had passed.

Yang mimicked the gesture as the locker clanked shut behind and they made their way leisurely to the cliffside where the entrance examination was to take place. Long legs strutted in a comfortable syncopation with the dainty, the sisters were built for one another. Mechanics running smoothly, there was yet unease as she found herself having to bight back the anxious bile rising in her throat.

Not that she doubted her own capabilities in any way. Her thoughts yet lingered on the littler girl who had not practiced her own art in many months. To think of Ruby without Crescent Rose was like thinking of her without fingers, for it had strapped seamlessly back onto her waist like she'd been born with it. But it had happened, and they were soon to find out what had become of it.

And though they did not deprive those at the clinic of exercise, it was as sterile and fake as everything else in that place. Aerobics designed to placate and calm unruly patients, not lending itself to refining combat skills.

Then there was the matter of a partner. She had already resigned herself to be paired with her sister for the next four years, foregoing her own preference like she had always done. Even in the two years apart, she made compromises for her sister. It was the least she could do. Though what if there wasn't a choice? She could only hope that whoever Ruby was paired with would be understanding.

If not, she was not hesitant to crack some skulls.

"WAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

…Speaking of cracking skulls…

Yang stared down at her fellow blond who skidded to a stop one false-step away from her feet. At least she wasn't being threatened by vomit this time.

"Am I in Haven? I think I see an angle…"

"Hey there, Vomit Boy."

Not deterred in the least by the unconscious pickup line, she greeted the teen with poorly concealed amusement. Apart from the namesake incident, she held nothing against the wannabe Casanova and would even admit that he might be considered cute in the manner of a crated puppy.

"Hey there beautiful, I don't think we've been introduced yet." Although, she had to concede that his recovery was impressive as he went from flat on the ground to amorous in a second. "My name's Jaune, Jaune Arc. Short. Sweet. Rolls of the tongue. Ladies love-o god it's you."

Like a slap in the face as the hapless romantic skipped back a pace in apparent fright, Yang almost had the inclination to take offense.

"Hey! What's your problem? We haven't even met yet!"

"Eh- sorry." He retracted from his defensive posture slightly. "She just surprised me, that's all."

"She…?" A pause too long to think, she turned to her sister in poorly-concealed chagrin.

"Have you met-?"

"I'll wait for you at the meeting point."

By the time she had remembered that there was someone by her side Ruby had already made an oblique path around the two of them. Jaune trying and failing not to cringe as she pointedly averted her gaze while passing him by.

"She's scary…"

"Hey! Watch what you say, that's my sister!"

He tried to back up yet again as the fist was brandished against him but ended up cornered next to the ubiquitous wall of lockers.

"Okay, okay! I'm sorry! I really didn't mean anything by it."

Cowed by the groveling apology Yang realized her overreaction. But like everything had been since that day, she was just a little too late as Ruby had already floated off like a dandelion before any attempt at a reconciliation could be made. What's more, she had done nothing but make the situation worse by antagonizing the victim.

In that age-old familiar gesture, she bit her lip and considered catching up to her sister to try and smooth over whatever bad feelings there were. Then quickly banished the thought; she had already dithered for too long. Instead, she stooped down to help the shell-shocked young man to his feet.

"I'm… sorry about that. Ruby's not…" Another sidewise glance down the thinning chamber. "She's not normally like that."

Ruby had always been recalcitrant for the most part. Cheery with her family and handful of friends, but shy around everyone else. Even after her involuntary stay at the clinic, Ruby had at least made an attempt at a joviality, however superficial it seemed at times. Yang still felt there was hope that the congenial girl could be revived. There were moments when she flowered outside the confines of the clinic, ready to accept the pollination of joy.

She could not fathom what had caused that sort of reaction, though.

"Heh, it's alright." Jaune assured, brushing himself off with a nonchalance. "I'm kind of used to it. I guess some people find me kind of annoying."

"Annoying? You? Nah." Cringing soon afterwards as she checked his arm sociably and almost sent him back into the locker. "She's just… had a rough time of it lately."

"I get that…" Commiserating as he rubbed his abused limb. "Well, I hope she feels better." He waved with the uninjured appendage as he walked off, presumably to sulk and perhaps salve his bruised ego and body before the exam.

"Yeah…" Yang uttered wistfully. "So do I."

* * *

" _So, how many others know?"_

 _Walking awkwardly down the hallways side by side with the headmaster. This wasn't how she had pictured her long-awaited release going. She imagined her father coming to bail her out from that prison. But no- he was the one who put her in._

" _I can count the number that do on both hands."_

 _She shouldn't have expected anything less. Or more. This was a sign of how her life was going to be from now on, it appeared. Things never going how she predicted. Answers passed down in riddles which were safe enough to share._

" _When do expect her to make a move?"_

 _She had been in for more than two years. They wouldn't let her have a calendar, but in her sleep she counted the days. Hopefully it wouldn't be too late._

" _I expect when she does, we will hear about it only after the fact." Ozpin admitted with a wry smile._

 _Ruby looked at him perplexed._

" _Don't you have Qrow keeping an eye on her?"_

" _He is also busy watching Raven. I hate to say it, but her defection put a serious hamper on our capabilities."_

 _Her hands itched for her scythe. Hearing about her step-mother left a deep pit in her stomach, as if she was personally responsible for the woman's selfishness._

" _-But enough about this dour subject."_

 _He drew his arm across his body, and like a magician, a flat, crimson envelope appeared in his hand._

" _What…?"_

" _You'll be busy for the next few weeks here as we get you caught up to the others, so there might not be time for you to enjoy this later." They stopped there underneath a gothic arch, and her silver eyes glitteringly reflected the black and white floor tiles as he pressed the offering into her hands._

" _Happy Birthday, Ruby."_

* * *

 **Another year, huh?**

 **Count, how many do you think**

 **Before they forget?**

* * *

Tasting the fresh air for the first time in years- sky which wasn't held behind bars or sandwiched in window panes.

The few weeks between her release and when the semester started had been far too hectic for such considerations. Much like how Ozpin predicted.

But now she was free, free from the scrutiny of callous doctors and pity from nurses wandering the hallow hallways. Free from the guilt of her hard decisions and missed opportunities. Free from the surly bonds of Earth as she flew through the crisp morning air.

*THWACK* "SQUACK!"

Since she did not want to stop for reality, it kindly stopped for her as a slow-moving bird glided straight down into her trajectory.

Cursing mildly as she spit feathers out of her mouth, she wondered if this would have happened if she'd been paying more attention. It did not bode well for her exam if she was this aloof and rusty in her senses. Though why they had decided to launch them off the cliff instead of having them walk down was anyone's guess. Faster, she supposed.

Rather than continue the long flight to her destination, she decided to ground herself early lest her own bird-like bones snap with another rough collision. Goodness, how she missed milk in that place. Here, she could make up for lost time. Though she could never make up for the time lost.

Near-silent landing. Near-silent stroll as she took in the woods all around her. When was the last time she'd been able to do this? To enjoy the musky stench of earth and cinnamon smell of bark? The sweet sap giving way to bitter humus. Her confident steps petered out as she realized that the forest didn't remind her of the one in patch, but rather the trees in Konoha. The memory crying out at her not to be left behind.

She stomped on her heel and barged through underbrush, suddenly impatient to get to her destination.

One snap and then another. The first alerting her to company and the second right behind as she flicked out her weapon and leveled it at the foreign presence.

Eyebrows as thin and as white as chalk lines were drawn high in surprise over pale, blinking blue eyes. Ruby's trigger finger stayed, frozen by those icy mirrors in which her own fear was reflected.

"You again…"

"My name's Ruby." She corrected curtly. It was getting a little tiresome being called that.

"Hmph." The other girl regained her haughty persona. "Fine. I guess we're partners. Just try not to blow me up again."

Split between being offended and being angry at the way she had been so quickly dismissed, Ruby hurried to catch up to the white-clad girl. But she paused with her mouth open moments before making a redress as a strange tingling worked its way through her jaw.

She smiled.

"Only if you get in my way."

She winked at the heiress's dumbfounded expression and skipped on ahead into the woods.

* * *

Inevitably they did not mesh as well as she and her sister. It was impossible to know how she could be enjoying herself with such a killjoy partner constantly trying to snuff out her eagerness. But Ruby just found it so satisfying to once again be out in the world- and with people again, that she just didn't pay it much mind.

Plus, the small fry Grimm they were coming up against which were attracted to her partner's sour mood proved to be great warmups for her, and it was satisfying to know that her skills hadn't languished all that much.

To say nothing of her stamina, though. Try as she might, as that waned, so did her optimism.

"Are you sure this is the right way?"

No, she had spent nearly a month rehabilitating in this very forest without paying attention to where she was going- was what she wanted to say with a heavy dose of sarcasm. But merely rolled her eyes at the girl's uppity attitude. That would have to change, sooner or later. For now, she settled for pointing to a fuzzy green cotton-ball stuck to the side of a tree.

"You see that?" Eyes squinted at what was just a dab of green amongst so many others. "That's a lichen. They typically grow facing North." Letharia Vulpina. Wolf Liken, actually. Was that ironic, somehow?

The snowy-colored girl looked first to her with furrowed brows, and then to the trunks of other trees including one which lay toppled a little way off. Though the patches were scattered, they did all generally grow on the same side.

"So we head West." She turned on her heel and continued in the same direction as they had been going.

This was something else which had been hammered into both their heads so long ago by both Qrow and Yamato. The psychiatrists would always tell her that it was a natural phenomenon, that her mind was digesting information it hadn't had time to process during the day, and incorporating it into her dream. Perfectly logical, she had no choice but to believe.

Except that Qrow had never told her its scientific name. She was fairly certain he didn't even know it, as he always referred to it as 'That Alien Pompom'. Perhaps her father had told her.

"Huh."

While she thought Ruby wasn't looking, her partner bent over to examine the odd lifeform and glance back up at her with a small inkling of respect worming its way into her prickly expression.

It was a start.

* * *

 **Something that is real**

 **Yet appears only in the mind,**

 **Does it still touch you?**

* * *

"Really, is this how it's gonna end?" Yang folded her arms, almost bored to know the answer as it stared the eight of them in the face with all manner of limbs designed to rend them head to toe.

"Not if I can help it!"

"No, wait! Ruby, don't!"

But contrary to her sister's opinion, she wasn't just going to blindly rush in. She stopped a few paces short of the oncoming Deathstalker, teasingly watched as it snipped the air in front of her.

"Your sister's going to get herself killed!" Said the annoying girl who dropped in from the sky along with her sister in what was to be the umpteenth miracle that day.

"Well, she's _your_ partner! Why don't you go and help her?!"

Weiss was humbled by the accusation, though hesitated even then at the idea of following the younger girl into the fray. In truth, Yang would have already been halfway there by now if it were not for the Nevermore sniping at them every time they moved from the dubious shelter of the ruins. She bit her lip, and despite the Aura flowing over her skin, it bled.

"Come on, just focus on me!" Ruby hissed under her breath as the arachnid creature took a few more fruitless swipes at her.

"Um, guys, she's leading that thing towards us." The ginger girl pointed out the blaring fact with a shaky finger.

"Just a little bit further…"

No attempt made thus far to repost the backhoe-like tail or car-crushing beak. Both were too strong for her just yet. Ruby kept hopping just outside their range, moving further and further back to where the rest of the students waited, unsure of what to do.

Though she caught the tail end of one of their comments and chanced turn her head back to see them standing dumbly.

"What are you guys doing?! Get out of here now-"

"Ruby!"

Cover be damned as she saw her younger sibling batted away like a wineglass, Yang darted from the stonework as fast as she could. But she was preempted even then by a white blur which lapped her before she even reached the yard of impaled feathers.

"You're so childish." Admonished Weiss as she loomed above the dazed Ruby with her weapon still poised at the tail end of her life-saving blow. "And stubborn. And don't forget loud and annoying." Ruby tried and failed to stand up as her head swam back and forth like a ship at sea, while her partner lectured on and ignored the scorpion-like Grimm she had frozen solid.

"But I guess I can be a little… difficult to get along with-"

"Yes! Fine!" The younger girl shook the stars from her eyes and the cobwebs from her head. "But can we please do this later? Right now you need to-" a piercing whistle which was like a Stuka in her ears interrupted the thought. "GO!"

The next thing she knew, Weiss was lying down on the grass. Staring ahead dreamily and looking up at the spot she once was. Only to be accosted by something out of a nightmare.

"Ruby-"

Breathlessly as she realized who had shoved her out of the way of the piercing feather fired from the circling Nevermore, and witness to them now impaled by the oversized flechette meant for her.

"No."

It wasn't supposed to be this way. They were just students, there was no way their mistakes should carry such consequence.

They weren't ready for this.

She blinked, hoping the morbid vision would vanish like a bad dream.

It did.

"Huh…?"

"I said go!"

The girl who should have been dead and cold grabbed the scruff of her combat dress and heaved her with surprising strength away from the killing zone in an exaggerated arc. Weiss didn't even have the presence of mind to complain as she saw the rapidly retreating form of her partner turn away from her with a crooked smile, before her momentum was arrested by a pair of even stronger arms.

"Ooph. Ya know, for such a small girl, you're pretty heavy."

Weiss gawped indigently as she stared up into laughing lavender eyes which set her down soon enough on her own two feet.

"What in the name of Remnant-"

"You know, your partner just gave you some good advice." The dark girl-haired girl slunk up on the blonde's coattails and prudently injected. "Besides, she seems to be doing alright on her own."

Though instinctively wanting to disagree because of her overprotective-sister-mode running on overdrive as of late, Yang bit her lip- this time to silence any fallacies which might spread from it.

Ruby _was_ doing alright. Though not directly attacking either beast, she instead baited them like a matador with that crimson cloak. And managing to stay one step ahead the whole time as she flowed around the lumbering attacks and danced in-step with the volleys from the sky. The Nevermore would grow tired of continually tacking down only her after-image, but still be unable to snap her up because of the competition getting in its way.

"She's holding them off for now." The resolute tone swayed them to the redhead who had joined their conference. "But I think we should take advantage of the break she is giving us and get out of here as soon as possible. We already have what we need to complete the test, there is no reason to stay and fight." The word of Pyrrha Nikos, four-time winner of the Mistral Regional Tournament carried a lot of weight, and drew the other first-year students in with its gravity.

Like a stray puppy, Weiss deferred to the Champion's assessment and was hot on her retreating heels. The others quickly caught on too and began jogging back whence they came into the forest. Naturally, Blake was a little reluctant to abandon her partner who was still fixated on the fight and would not move as her sister deftly played the two Grimm off one another with minimal effort.

"Yang," She called hesitantly. "We should go too."

The only acknowledgment that she heard the advice was a stiff nod.

"Ruby!" She called out, cupping her hands to her mouth. "Come on! It's time to leave!"

Blake held her breath remembering the last time someone had distracted the cloaked girl.

Her worry proved needless though, as the scythe wielder danced among the feathers jutting up like an iron-forest. Mocking the Deathstalker and making it wade through the spiny defenses prodding at it's soft underbelly.

"Don't worry Yang!" She called out without looking back. "I'll catch up!"

"Come on." Blake urged again, more worried than she'd care to admit being separated from the main group. "Your sister really seems like she's going to be alright."

"Yeah," Her words did not match her actions though as she shook her head. "she really is."

* * *

Was this some kind of joke, or punishment for letting the man down?

"You did a good job today, Ruby."

She stopped and looked up at him with narrowed eyes, unable to see the contempt and sarcasm which should have been there.

"All I did was run away."

What good would a soldier who just runs away from the battle be? What possible use could Ozpin still have for someone like that?

"Yes, but you bought time for your allies to escape by sacrificing your own safety." He ushered the both of them on with is cane, not content to talk in the halls. Or maybe craving his late-afternoon cocoa. "Humility and sacrifice are as respectable traits as determination. A good huntress needs to know their limits, when to fight and when to run away. I'd say you accomplished both undeniably, and you will regain your prior strength in time with care and good nutrition. However…"

There was always a catch. She fought the grimace which crawled over her face, before realizing that there was no reason to.

"You look upset." It was strange having someone vocalize the obvious.

"What did I do wrong?"

She didn't know why she should be so preoccupied with this. Maybe because she feared he would discard her if she did not perform to expectations, send her back to the institution. She should have been used to criticism by now, but never did it seem to have such palpable consequences.

Should she have attacked the Grimm head on? Two years hence she beheaded a Gryphon on the side of a cliff during direr circumstances. Now though, she was unfamiliar with her atrophied body and reluctant to push it further than what she had during training.

"Hm." Ozpin hummed as if the words had not been just on his lips. "I wouldn't say that you did anything in particular _wrong_. I was merely going to say that next time you should rely on your teammates to assist you. It is what a _leader_ would do."

He walked facing forward again as she slowly started to lag behind, his words weighing heavy on her.

"Is there something the matter?" He stopped before she got further away than the length of his cane, like he'd been watching with eyes in the back of his head.

"No…" She muttered, staring at her feet.

It was a novel feeling. For so long she'd been condemned for actions which deviated from the norm. All the doctors had praised her before letting her down, complimenting her intelligence before asking her why she insisted on giving credit to an imaginary person.

It was scary, too, now that she realized it. Recognized that praise had been contaminated for her and attention spoiled, rewards a rose where all she got was thorns.

"No." She shook her head resolutely. "Nothing's wrong." She wouldn't let it be, ever again.

"Good." They continued their walk in silence.

It would be a burden to be a leader. She realized that much. But in the same breath, wouldn't it be nice to have someone watching her back? As much as she would hate to admit it, perhaps she could no longer trust Yang as implicitly as she once might. Having others to fill in the gaps would make things easier, if she dared trust them. If they would have her.

Her faith had been given away once. Broken, cut at the quick. But in the end, she had no one to blame but herself.

In her dreams, _ surrounded himself with as many others as he could gather. She agreed, there could never be enough. Should she believe the doctors and their psychologies, her subconscious mind was grasping out for companionship while her conscious mistrusted it.

For good reason. Those people had indoctrinated her into that new, boring, miserable normal. Taught her the valuable lesson of being skeptical to new information.

Even then, with all that caution and doubt, she could look back to her memories of ... and his team and find hope for herself in that. Even if everyone she knew decried them as a fantasy, would it be wrong to take heed of the lessons they taught? Was there really no meaning to be found in what might be a figment of her imagination? Fables had morals which spread to life. Fiction had truth unburdened by context.

Of course, It would be foolish to swallow any story whole. Wrong to blindly follow them as a script of how her life ought to go. What those idealistic stories described wasn't her world, after all.

Not yet, anyway.

* * *

 **You keep trying, why?**

 **No story is perfection**

 **Always falling short**

* * *

She couldn't sleep.

She couldn't remember the last time this happened to her. Every day at the institution wore on her mental defenses, tried her resolve until it whittled away at her physical body and she collapsed in a stiff mattress full of tears. Every day after she got out was nonstop conditioning to bring her back into fighting shape. Regiments even more rigorous than before she went in. She slept more soundly there than in her own bed back in Patch.

Exhaustion should have claimed her already. Shouldering off two elder Grimm for more than 20 minutes would take it out of anyone, let alone a borderline anorexic girl who hadn't so much as touched a weapon in years.

Maybe it had something to do with the two-dozen cookies she'd scarfed after trudging back into the cafeteria. It was less than she used to consume, but it was also the most since being parted from _Crescent Rose,_ as they had carefully monitored her sugar intake in the institution.

She'd puked most of those up anyway, her stomach not used to such richness.

All that was left to blame were her thoughts which still swayed back and forth on gentle waves, rocking her in and out of lucidity.

There were Ozpin's words to consider. The man himself and how much she should trust him. How much she should trust her new comrades who slept without preoccupation beside her. That strange concept, this emotion which surrounded it that she'd been denied for so long. There was herself to consider as well. Dare she trust the disbelieving person she had become?

Or maybe it was her old friend which whispered in her ear.

Fear. Fear of the unknown. What would happen now if she should close her eyes? This was the first night where she had not leapt into unconsciousness with her head on the pillow. It was the contemplation of the ground below before the drop. It was looking back before a long trip away.

Though why should she be feeling this, when she wanted to believe?

She wanted to leap out of bed and rummage through her bags, find a piece of paper and just write. The feeling was so strong, that it felt like if she ignored it for much longer the words would carve their way onto her skin.

But what if it should be like the unicorn? That precious thing which was only real once. If she sought it again, would the spell be broken? Five-thousand times before the sun rose after it set, but there was always that fear she would never see it again.

She wanted to believe she was free. Free to choose her own truths once again. If she wasn't…

This was a new time in her life, and there was fear.

There was also excitement, for what came next.

* * *

 **All the more reason**

 **To keep on trying, one day**

 **You will make it right**


	16. Canonic

**Blargh. Sorry, I know this was supposed to be out on Sunday, but I was getting all of the necessary Spring Break partying out of the way early. You know, like sleeping late and binging Netflix series. That count's as partying, right?**

 **Once again, thanks to all my lovely reviewers and silent patrons. You are the cardial beats to this heart.**

* * *

The way down the path of pins would be long and hard, almost as long as the wait had been. It would become colder too, as day bled to night and fall was smothered by winter.

But the evergreens remained the same. The road remained the same. And the journey…

Would the sun ever rise? Would Spring ever come again?

These questions she would have time to ponder as she walked the path alone. No sound but the hollow echo of the universe, and the occasional howling of a lone wolf.

* * *

It was a cool day. Warm, for the middle of fall. Then again, that's the way it usually was in Fire Country, where it was temperate most days of the year and unbearably hot and humid during the summer months.

Except for those unexpected days when winter struck with a vengeance.

It was the kind of day where one did not mind waking up late to the sun slowly nibbling away at the room's chill, incessant chirping of birds overriding the alarm which had never been set.

Naruto would find contentment upon waking up like this, knocking the sands of time from his eyes and relishing in that fleeting eternity. Nothing to do. Nothing to want.

He would have just returned from the hospital, being admitted shortly after his reignited spar with Sasuke. It felt as if he had done a good job recovering the intent, as the fight lasted long enough to need to be broken up by good Samaritan shinobi and the Hokage herself. They would be dragged apart, one overbearing concern settled, and his wounds long since healed.

Friends and comrades had come to visit them both, chide them over their foolishness but not-so-secretly laud that purposefulness which the two conducted themselves with, like they had been sculpted from birth to be nemeses. His remaining welcome-backs were all celebrated while his bones knitted in casts, making him unable to feed himself the confections heaped upon him. Though not unable to appreciate the affectious doting. So much like a real family.

That was long since over, and the novelty of his return already waned. No one more would be coming to visit his humble apartment today, not Sasuke, not Neji, and not even Tenten who all had their own lives to lead separate from him. That was okay, they had done their part and discharged their duty. He couldn't ask for any better companions, and not for the first time he marveled at this achievement he would never have thought possible.

There was plenty of time to do so as well, no missions, no obligations, and no interruptions. Just himself, and that lazy sun which would never quite make it past the usual zenith overhead, but would still be enough to warm his toes as they stretched under the duvet.

He could say that he wanted for nothing, but it would a hollow statement in that lonesome apartment.

Telling himself that he required nothing was the truth, yet it felt like a lie. He still worked towards something, for something or someone which was ever but a blank space on the page. He knew what name he wanted to put down there, but would it be legal? Would it then prevent him from squeezing in any more names upon that line? Why did he hesitate to count on that person? How could he be so against putting all his eggs in one basket, when all he really wanted fit in the palm of his hand? In that empty space in his heart.

"It…" His voice was cracked and hoarse. He swallowed, wetted his lips. "It's okay for me to want… to want not to be alone, isn't it?"

He missed her terribly. Missed what they shared like he missed a piece of his body, a big toe so that he would never walk straight again and be reminded of it ever day of his life. At the same time, being alone like this… holding a part of himself back from people was agony worse than losing what they had. Sasuke had been right, and he needed to move on, find a new drive to push himself to achieve his goals.

But he needed closure. He couldn't let it end like this, drowning in silence.

"You… must feel the same? I should know, but I don't anymore. Sometimes, I don't even feel human."

When the time would come for him to forgo his humanity, he could find company with the Fox and watch the world burn. Maybe that was where he truly belonged regardless. Perhaps the beast too must be lonely in that solitary cell. Until that day when the he could no longer look at himself in the mirror, he would cling with bloody nails to the reality which he had come to know. Not let it slip through his fingers like it had before.

"It must hurt terribly."

"It does."

There was no shock at the second voice in his empty apartment, almost like he had been expecting it. Well, someone probably had.

"I wish I could say that it gets easier as you get older, but it doesn't." Yamato stepped into the light, crossing the tidy disorder in the single-room apartment. "No one wants to be alone. But sometimes we are even when there are so many people surrounding us."

Naruto nodded at his reflection in the glass.

"You shouldn't feel that way, though." The Jōnin spoke frankly and without admonishment, setting the plastic-wrapped bowl on the nightstand. "You're young. And you have plenty of people who care about you."Despite the way the rest of the world treated him for what he was, it went unsaid. "As we get older, it becomes more difficult, because we tend to become what we fear most."

"What we fear most?"

"Mm." Yamato nodded, trading one wall for another closer to the blond and leaning on it. "Our fears become the greatest focus in our lives, and that becomes what shapes us more than anything else. So that by the time we are old, it is the only thing we can think about." Both of them looked at the photo of three Genin and their instructor sitting on the small dresser at the foot of the bed, children unburdened by fears.

"Grownups like to pretend that they have more to think about than children, and that's why they're unhappy. But it's not because they actually do, but just because they realize how complicated the world they've woven around themselves is. If anything, it prompts them to shrink back into themselves, guard ever more against the dangers, or perceived dangers which they alone have created. They develop quirks as defenses against the harsh reality, but that only serves to distance them even further form one another.

"You find yourself alone right now, because ironically that is what you fear the most. Or rather, you fear the loss of it more than anything.

"If I can give you any advice as a sensei: don't wall yourself off from the people who care about you. We get hurt sometimes, but that is part of life. It doesn't make the good parts not worth it."

It was something he'd told himself time and time again, and never did it sink in until the words were spoken by someone else. Like the fears inside his head, the understanding was only real in there.

"Thanks, sensei."

"You're welcome, Naruto-kun."

Wide chocolate eyes traced the sunbeam back up to its source, meeting the fulfilled stare of his student.

"Someday, perhaps I can take that same advice." The older man said with bitter aftertaste.

There was more to Yamato than met the eye- either set of eyes which had seen him through the same lens. Naruto knew that his presence on the team had been something special, deliberate by the Old Man in his benevolent scheming. Jiraya had only confirmed it on the trip when he let slip that Yamato had been in ANBU, and ROOT before that. What kind of lonely existence that would have been, he could not imagine.

It wasn't solely due the Mokuton, though, which could quell the demon inside of him. Who should know better about the human condition than a man who had seen it from inside and out? Like him, Yamato had been removed from society for a long time. Part by force, and part by choice.

Because in the end, wouldn't they always have a choice?

"I believe in you, sensei."

He truly did. And now it was time to start believing in himself.

* * *

 _Dear Ruby,_

 _I don't know if you're reading this, but I suppose in the end it doesn't matter, because it's as much for you as it is for me._

 _I can't deny that a distance has grown between us, and since I don't really know how to measure how close we were before it's hard to know the change. It feels now like I'm reaching out through murky water at something I can't see but know is there, and my hands are numb. I should be able to know if you're just trying to shut me out, or if we really are disconnected. But I don't._

 _Can you still see me, feel me, as I do you?_ _That question has haunted me._

 _It's clear what caused it, and I can only apologize once again for what our bond has put you through. I know if you could, you would tell me it isn't my fault. At least, that's what I hope you would say. All I can tell you is that it isn't some defect in you, no matter what crock they try to feed you. More than anything else, you should believe that._

 _But again, it doesn't matter, because it's time we both start believing in our own actions._

 _Maybe in some ways we were unlucky because we got to know one another so closely. We could rely on each other, instead of relying on ourselves._

 _No matter how much it pains me now to see what you have been put through, perhaps like all things it is for the best. I'm not saying it's a perfect world- because we both know it's not. Just, maybe, this is what is supposed to happen, or rather, what needs to happen._

 _That doesn't mean I'm giving up though. This isn't goodbye, and I won't stop trying to reach out to you. We should both continue to fight against what everyone else tells us is 'normal'. If you can forgive me for all that, you can forgive me for this, but fuck normal! What has that word ever meant for us?_

 _Never give up on trying to make this world accept us. Never give up on yourself and know that I won't either._

 _I'm just starting to believe in myself._

 _Yours Forever,_

 _Naruto._

* * *

Brunched on lukewarm ramen which would mollify his belly until dinner, Naruto would stroll lazily through the village in its equally relaxed afternoon milieu.

Not without a care, but selectively so. Caring only for the few smiles he could pick out amongst the crowd, and ignoring those of indifference and animosity. Those were a dime a dozen, but the ones that weren't were a diamond in the rough.

Just such a gem with its facet of friendliness edged its way through the muck. Even just a small smile and wave at him even from far away was like a lighthouse on a foggy day.

"Naruto-san," The pigtailed-blonde sketched a small bow. "It's good to see you again." A dark-haired male came up alongside her.

"Eh, so you're back, huh?" Though feigning indifference, it was impossible for Naruto not to notice the subtleties which set it apart from the background noise; a twitch of a smirk on the pineapple-head's lip, legible as a book to one who had learned how to read through expression alone. "I should have guessed that the disturbance earlier had something to do with you. There's always more work to do when you're around."

"And hello to you too, Shikamaru." Naming the lazy genius with a nod. "Eh, Sasuke and I were just having a bit of fun. Baa-chan was mostly just overreacting. You know how nitpicky she gets." With a chuckle at his own understatement, he had to wonder at the other male's mutterings about troublesome blondes, just which one he was referring to. He turned to face his fellow culprit. "Hey Temari! It's great to see you again too, you don't have to be so formal, though. Just Naruto will do."

"Alright then, Naruto." The polite smile became one of relief.

"What'cha doing here anyway? Are Gaara and Kankuro here as well?"

"I'm afraid not."

"Temari here is the new liaison between our villages, and I've been given the troublesome task of showing her around." Shikamaru explained with half-hearted jerk of the thumb.

"I see…"

They gave him an odd look, most likely wondering if he was going to chide the two of them about their closeness like everyone else that they had run into thus far had been unhesitant to do.

"Well that's great! I guess it means I get to see more of you guys then, huh? Not just during the Chῡnin exams."

The though had occurred to him. But could he truly tease them for being a henpecked couple when he didn't even know what one looked like? What was the difference between friendship and love, and was there a difference at all when it all boiled down? And just how wrapped up in himself and his own neuroses had he been that he couldn't distinguish it?

"I can speak for myself, thank you." The woman arched an eyebrow at her escort who was rubbing the phantom pain in his arm and averting his gaze. "Especially if it's too _troublesome_ for you. Anyway," She turned back to her fellow blond, easily falling into her own repartee. "Yeah, you've been gone but I've been at this gig a few months. I'm scheduled to head back tomorrow. Gaara and Kankuro are still in Suna, though. If I had known you were going to be back, I'm sure he would have liked to see you. But being Kazekage doesn't give him that much of a chance to get out these days, I'm afraid."

It would be a lie to say he was not shocked. Although he shouldn't have been. Perhaps that was _why_ he was shocked: had he been so out of the loop that he missed such an important event? What else had his introverted gaze overlooked?

"So he's become the Kazekage, huh?" He spoke, directing his affectionate smile to the ground. "That's great. That's really great. I'm happy for him." And that was the truth.

To become Hokage and be acknowledged was still, and always had been his dream. Though it was only this morning that he'd had to revisit his motivations and find a new way to that ascent. The path he thought he'd seen from the bottom had been washed out before him, and it was yet a hard climb from here. But as long as he still had his legs, he would dare summit it.

But that didn't mean he wouldn't stop to smell the roses along the way.

"Naruto…"

"Hey! Since I didn't get a chance to celebrate before, how 'bout we do it now, my treat! I mean, unless you don't think you have the time."

As shocked as they were at the munificent and unexpected proposal, both companions were preoccupied with trying to find a hint of jealous pain beneath that sunny exterior. They wouldn't.

"W-well, while that's a generous and tempting offer, I'm afraid that we are a little busy right now." She looked to her escort for support, though Shikamaru's sigh could have meant any number of things, from resigned agreement, to relief, to pure boredom.

"She's right. And as much as she'd insist that she can find her own way around the Village, I still need to serve as escort per the rules, so I'm stuck with her."

"True. In that case," She shot the lazy shinobi an irritant look. "Why don't we all get together later? I'm sure that by- say about six or seven we should be just about-"

She cut her sentence short even before the ANBU alighted next to them, prematurely sensing his presence.

"-done."

"Uzumaki-san." The familiarly aliased man addressed the blond. "The Hōkage requests your presence." Then he turned as if noticing the boy's company for the first time. "Sabaku-san, it might be best if you come too."

The two named exchanged similar glances which expressed their confusion and the innate feeling of trepidation which came with such a non-sequitur.

Naruto could not form a general opinion about events like these which came seemingly out of the blue. Equally in his life, surprises had been both good and bad. It was this unbiased fortune that released him from much of the dread surrounding ignorance. Thus, he had no reason to suspect anything amiss.

And yet, it still felt like the cold shadow of an anvil had covered him and sucked the sun from his life.

* * *

He would blink, and the blonde woman's pensive face disappeared to be replaced with her backside. Her lithe form straining against its own skin as she hurtled through the woods at breakneck speeds, himself only a pace behind. They were moving so fast, it would feel like only seconds since they had been addressed by the village leader. The fact that his friend, her brother, had been kidnapped still fresh in their minds.

In actuality it had been hours since, and now well into the deep afternoon abutting evening. Those four frenzied bundles of straw-colored hair ahead of him were now dabbed in crimson paint as they leapt from tree to tree.

Not that he could blame her for this celerity. He wanted to get there as fast as possible too. He had only just been reminiscing about his redheaded friend when informed of his capture by the same people that wanted to extract the monstrous being housed in him.

Jinchῡriki- the power of a human sacrifice. They had already been sacrificed once, and to be asked to give it all up again was the worst fate he could think of for someone like himself. He didn't even want to entertain what they would do if they found out about his other 'tenant'.

He tried to maintain hope, but the preconceived failure was already eating away at his heart.

Their- Ruby's loss of her mother had been sudden and cold. Like being dumped into a pool of ice water.

This, this was like drowning in the Atlantic.

"Temari-san, we need to break for the night." Even Neji's measured voice sounded distraught, which was not reassuring to the rest. "If we continue this pace, we will still not be able to reach Suna until tomorrow at about 11:00 AM. Besides, we still only have a vague idea of where the Akatsuki headed with your brother after escaping. We should wait to hear back from the trackers before we go too far out of our way."

In another blink of an eye night had already fallen. When the woman turned with a snappish rely, the last traces of evening light flashed shadows into the pale bags already forming under her eyes. Making her look every bit as sleep deprived and manic as her brother had oh so many years ago. She cracked her mouth to yell an acerbic remark, but that first syllable was intercepted by her fellow kunochi who skipped up to put herself in between the two.

She and Tenten had formed a complex relationship in the years following their not-so-friendly match, and Naruto would not pretend to know what exactly it was. A non-verbal exchange was conducted in that flickering moonlight shooting between their eyes. Whatever sort of détente they juggled, it did get Temari to back down and come to a trotting halt. The rest of their squad landed next to the mutely seething woman as she stared infernally at the ground.

Once again, Naruto couldn't blame her. He also knew that while he was fit to go on, the rest weren't. She would realize it herself as well, soon enough when she would collapse. He volunteered to go back and tell the squad trailing a few minutes behind that they were resting.

"No, I'll go." Yamato stated, giving Naruto an unmistakable stare. "Besides, I should hash out a battle-plan with Kakashi. You and the others make up camp, and take care of the rest. No fire."

Naruto nodded at the familiar orders as the man disappeared. He hadn't quite understood what 'the rest' entailed until catching a sidelong glance at the emotionally distraught sister.

Then he got it. Though quite how to go about the task, he'd no idea.

"I don't even think I'll be able to sleep."

He nodded in sympathy and agreement. In the few hours since they'd made camp, she'd hardly touched her rations until threatened force-feeding by Tenten. Apart from that, she'd been staring fuzzily at whatever she'd been pointed towards, and Naruto was even less sure how to approach her now than before. But he knew she needed to talk to someone. He couldn't exactly rely on her to be a voice of reason inside her own head.

Neither of them could.

"You should try."

But what reason could he give besides the obvious rational? To argue logic would be insulting to this professional woman. They were both shinobi, trained to catch sleep's hummingbird wings no matter how elusive. For him, ever since he was young it had been a very clear-cut duty. There was always someone waiting for their turn.

"It's only fair to Gaara if you do."

Despite how lame the excuse sounded even to him, she laughed. A single bark to which he craned his head around the tree trunk they shared to look at her.

"You're strange, Naruto." She shook her head before resting it on her crossed arms. "Or maybe I am, because I somehow feel like understand you. If Gaara could talk to me right now, he'd say something silly and simple like that. Not try to rationalize it, argue with me, or even order me as my Kazekage."

He listened patiently as she reminisced about the mundane experiences, finding himself oddly interested in how his fellow Jinchῡriki lived day to day.

"I don't know how you seem to know what's going on inside his head, but it's been like this ever since that day we met, hasn't it?" She asked to him, but more likely just herself. He was glad to see that he wasn't the only one who did so. "I mean, you're both so different, and yet you're the same, right? Almost like you share a connection- I mean, one beyond… you know."

A thought came to her, and before she could scrutinize it with her normal prudence which had gone AWOL, she had already voiced it to him.

"Ne, Naruto, this might be weird to ask, but, um…" Her words stumbled, but they already had momentum. "Do think you can, you know, like sense him or something? Is there some sort of bond that Jinchῡriki share that'll tell you if he's alive?"

"No." He hated to hear the desperation in her voice, but false hope and lies were the only sure dangers in his experience. If only he could. If only he could form a bond with everyone like he did Ruby.

It did beg an interesting question: If Gaara could sleep, would he also have someone on the other side?

"O-oh, I see. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked…"

"But we will rescue him, that I know." He looked at the back of her ragged hair and the corner of her chapped lips dyed blue in the twilight. "I _will not_ allow someone precious to me be taken away without giving it my all first. I promise we will bring him back." He said in that stereotypical intensity which never ceased to endear and reassure.

"Yes." She agreed faintly, before refreshing. "Yes, of course."

Though even when he thought she was done talking and expended her worry on him, she called out in a shy voice he'd never expected from the resilient woman.

"Hey, Naruto? Do you mind if I talk about him, just for a little bit?"

"No, please."

She talked for a while longer until she realized she had been rambling due to fatigue, and then allowed the last remnants of words to leave her. She settled on listening to the night noise, trying to meditate on that to drown out her other more troublesome thoughts. She heard a light, syncopated breathing coming from next to her.

"Are you asleep?"

"No." He answered softly. "Just closing my eyes so I can hear you better."

That got another small chuckle out of her.

"You know, I think I'd get annoyed with anyone else ignoring me, especially in this situation." She admitted. "But I just can't help but marvel how you can go from zero to sixty and then back again in a heartbeat. I swear, you can sleep anywhere."

He could feel her leaning over to stare at him as he sat up against the rough tree-trunk.

"Mm. It's only fair to Gaara. I want to sleep now so that I can stay up with him when we get back. We have a lot to catch up on."

"You know what?"

"Hm?"

"I believe you."

"Mm-hm."

There was something light and soft which graced his forehead. Familiar. Deja-vu, but not. Almost like it had happened to someone else.

"Thanks, Naruto."

* * *

Ruby was almost used to waking up early by now. Schedule in the institution had been rigorous, and under her uncle's tutelage she had never been allowed to sleep in anyway. She almost missed that.

The thought of her uncle and where he had been the past two years was so stressful it almost made her want to go back to bed. But again, she knew there was not much point. She'd never been able to go back to sleep after waking up, no matter how early or late.

Never.

So, it was early. Some might say obscenely so, but there were a million and one things that she would have to do if she was going to trust herself with being a leader to other girls her senior by almost three years.

The sun was just peaking over the horizon.

Best get started.

The sound was as piercing as an arrow. It had a similar effect as the three young women shot out of their beds in an autonomic action. Though that was as far as their unconscious responses went, and all were left hanging in various states of disrepair when their bodies let them go.

"What the heck was that?!" Weiss rubbed her rear end as she picked herself gingerly up off the ground.

"I don't know, but I am going to tell you right now that I'm not going to put up with that again, let alone every weekday for the rest of my time here." The dark-haired beauty rubbed the top of her head where her perpetual bow still perched.

"What the hell, Ruby?" Yang simply buried her head back underneath the pillow, somewhat used to the ignominious wakeup back when Qrow was training her sister. "Can't you let us sleep a little? It was a rough day yesterday." She muttered to her mattress, forgetting that it was Ruby herself that had done most of the heavy lifting.

Said girl blinked in honest dumbfound.

"Um… no. We kinda have to get up for classes…"

If she'd known that was all she'd needed to say to get the three lazy-birds to shoot from their beds like there were spiders in them (that had been the next try), then she wouldn't have resorted to the whistle after poking them with the handle of _Crescent Rose_ had failed.

"What time is it?!" Her sister demanded of the alarm clock- the only thing she'd bothered unpacking the previous night.

"8:35."

"Wait!" Weiss exclaimed, dropping her toothbrush and makeup on her way to the bathroom. "Don't we have classes at nine?"

"Yes?"

"Why didn't you wake us sooner?!"

The frown which had been present ever since Ruby had decided to wake her roommates deepened. She had long since resolved not to get discouraged easily, especially when it came to those social mazes she'd not yet solved. But in this seemingly unwinnable situation, she was debating what she had gotten herself into.

"You still have twenty-five minutes."

"Ugh!" Her partner threw her arms into the air in dramatized exasperation. "We still have to get dressed and cleaned, and we haven't even unpa- where is all of our stuff?"

"I put it away for you. To save time." Ruby said with an averted grin. "You guys are really deep sleepers."

Blake would beg to differ. IF, that were, she were not looking down at them from her second-story bed which had definitely _not_ been there last night.

"You made bunk-beds?!"

" _ **Really**_ deep sleepers."

"Heh, heh, yup!" Yang laughed uncomfortably, sidling up to her sister and putting her arm around her. "My sister's practically a little ninja." She turned from the incredulous looks she was receiving to her sister who had been completely aloof until then and now looked like she'd seen a ghost.

"Hey, listen Rubes, since you're already good to go, why don't you just wait outside while us girls get ready at our own pace." She placed a staying finger on the younger woman's lips as she opened them to say anything contrary. "I **promise** we'll be ready in time to go to classes." And she shooed her out before the younger girl had a chance to decline.

She watched her sister wordlessly comply, slumped shoulders shuffling out the entrance and shutting the door with the barest of clicks. And only then did she realize her actions.

"Your sister is weird."

She turned that guilt to vindictiveness and unleashed it on her sister's partner with the same finger which previously had tenderly silenced, now prepared to do so through force.

" **Don't** talk about my sister like that." She threatened. "She did all of us a huge favor, and I won't have some upstart princess badmouthing her for doing something right." Her fiery eyes soldered their mouths shut, and she turned away from them before she could feel hypocritical. "Now I'm going to use the bathroom, so you best do what you need to for the morning out here if you can. You have fifteen minutes."

The door to the private bathroom slammed shut and only after the window-frames settled did the remaining two dare speak.

"I **still** say she's weird."

* * *

The morning had been a rocky start, and one which would set the tone for the rest of the day. This was Yang's summation, at least. She would admit to a slight negative bias in the form of a personal cloud of remorse following her around from then on. Guilt for the way she'd so childishly dismissed her sister from the dorm like she was still a child in need of guidance.

The distraction it provided made it so she wouldn't be able to concentrate on anything, much less the lessons they were supposed to trudge through. She could only hope that it wouldn't be indicative of the way the rest of the year would play out, but only experience would reveal that.

When time came for them to leave for classes, Ruby would still be waiting for them outside like a stray. Mulling about and not knowing what else to do, having already knocked on JNPR's door and let them know they too had ten minutes to spare. Yang would remark at how it was nice of her to wait for them, and Ruby would offhandedly remind her older sibling that it was the leader's duty to be accountable for her teammates.

It wouldn't be said in a bitter or somber way, but that solid fact was far more jarring and harsh on her ears than any childish pouting could be. More painful than an ear-splitting scream. And she had no one to blame but herself.

She had slipped too easily into that older-sister role, insensible of the time which had escaped them. Worse, she'd unwittingly undermined her sister's authority with that casual dismissal. And Ruby would let her, put on that mask of normalcy and indulge her fantasies.

They could not afford that.

By acting so ignorantly, she had already set a precedence which would be hard to shrug. Whatever support she leant Ruby's command now might already by sabotaged by her own foolishness.

It was only too obvious that her sister's partner had already formed an opinion on the girl. Weiss had probably taken Yang's belittling attitude as permission for outright insubordination.

There was nothing she could do to fix this. She wanted to, but also knew that fighting all of Ruby's battles for her would be as damaging to her command as her previous slip-up.

And so, the entire first day would seem to be a wash. Weiss visibly rebelling against her juvenile command and Ruby herself feebly trying to support them all, splitting herself thin and hesitating to assert her authority. She'd never been domineering before, and the clinic had only made her more adverse to authoritarianism. The callouses she had developed against the micromanaging of her life prevented her from doing the same to anyone else.

Though it would be worse than even Yang could know.

Ruby too did not possess high hopes for their team. She would tail Weiss as the girl went to object her leadership to one of their teachers. She would snoop around just long enough for Ozpin to try and sneak up on her.

The man would bequeath unto her words of confidence, which in the end would tell her nothing of how to manage her problems or why he had chosen her in the first place. She was left to wonder as before how the man could be so unwavering in his confidence in her when she could only see her uniqueness as a hindrance.

His words only left her more in doubt. She wanted to find her own confidence, but as long as these questions remained, it felt impossible to pave the way over her past.

After dinner she would lay on her mattress in the empty room- her teammates all off scattered doing their own evening activities. She should have cared about their location but was honestly too tired. She would lay there and not sleep, but rather, relive the eternity of her incarceration whose straight jacket she couldn't escape even now. It was always tying her down, cutting her off from her will.

Maybe she even agreed with Weiss. But that didn't mean she could rewind time and tell Ozpin to let her grow in ignorance. Nothing would allow her to hide that foolish diary before anyone found it. Lock it up, burn it, do something and anything to hide her fatal defect.

Nothing would ever make her regret writing it.

Never repent who she was. Now that was a far harder task than being a team leader, but a part of it all the same. She already knew what she had decided to do. Already made up her mind. After all, there had been that letter in her dreams which told her to believe in herself, and her dreams never lied.

Today had failed, but that wouldn't mean that tomorrow would as well, did it?

Sometimes it felt like fate had fixed her with chains back to that horrid place, never allowing her to leave and tainting her mind along with her record. Was it just a feeling, or was that the way things really were, like the curse which bound her to live half her life in her dreams?

Why was she even asking this? These were not the questions she needed answers to.

Her resolve was real. And sleep would only offer more proof.

* * *

"It's a seal barrier." Naruto informed them absolutely. Though he felt rather useless being only able to deduce that much, staring at the paper-wrapped stone which barred them from the Akatsuki's hideout with controlled fury.

He'd only managed a few weeks of Fuinjutsu study under Jiraya's tutelage which was enough to unveil their limitless bounds, but not enough to learn anything practical. The avenue had occurred to him after learning how the Fourth Hokage's technique could distort space and time. It revealed the possibility that he might somehow use them as a bridge between him and Ruby. Seals could be the key to figuring out how to reestablish the link if it really was broken.

Or, in the very worst case, close it forever in case she thought of him now as a burden.

"Is there any way around it?" Temari asked impatiently.

He shook his head pensively to the kunochi's question.

"Nothing that I'd be able to devise in the time we probably have." He glared at the 'Forbidden' kanji wishing he could deconstruct it with his eyes. That, or set it on fire. "We'll just have to abide by the normal rules, and possibly suffer the consequences of whatever trap they've set up."

"Which are?"

"There are another four around here somewhere and they have to be peeled at the exact same time." Ignoring the other part to the question, he looked at his teammate. "Neji."

"Right." The Jōnin deferred to him, already activating his all-seeing eyes to locate the other the others. "Found them."

"Luckily I brought these along." Yamato held out a palm-full of earbuds, but before anyone else could grab any, Naruto placed his hand over the whole lot.

"Let me."

Yamato nodded as he watched Naruto put one into his ear and back away before four copies of the teen joined them in the small glen. The center one snapped his eyes open, and everyone held their breath as crimson eyes froze them all with an ethereal laugh echoing in their heads.

Though it only lasted for a second, and then the four Naruto were gone in a howling gust of wind and a swirl of leaves that felt like Fall had come early.

Before anyone could even acknowledge their readiness, Naruto had already walked up to the primary tag and ripped it off with nary a word through the radio.

"Alright, let's-" His resolute blue eyes blurred in distracted shock.

"What is it, Naruto? What's wrong?"

The onlookers didn't have long to wait to find out, as before their very eyes emerged something that was almost as unpredictable as the original blond shinobi: a replica in muted tones with a blank expression, sprouting from the paper tag not unlike Yamato's wooden replicas.

The original frowned as some of the other memories from his clones flowed back into him after they were dispelled. What he had seen so far was not good, but there was still confidence enough that he could best himself. The facsimile didn't have nearly the motivation he did to win.

There was also a singular memory from one of his clones. Something which gave him more reason than ever to surmount this obstacle.

Without further ado, his hand slipped to the holster on his side almost faster than his mirror image and then-

There was a sound like a cat howling. A sizzling, hissing noise with tiny pops as newly constructed blood-vessels burst and boiled away. The tip of a katana was staring at him through the chest of his very likeness, mirroring the same incredulity he was sure was on his own face.

"We don't have time for this." Sasuke declared with a callous twist of his wrist which bisected the barrier clone who then dissolved into ink sublimating into the surrounding air, not even leaving a stain on the teen's katana.

"…Thanks for that." Naruto spoke the words while a wary frown tugged at his lips. "It's not over, though."

Before anyone could ask, he turned away from the mountainous boulder blocking the cave entrance to a seemingly blank patch of forestry, staring far past the tall grass and dense copse in the way.

"What now?" His fellow blonde asked with impatient suspicion as she recognized the heavyset resignation etched on his face.

"You guys go on ahead."

There were a number of people who would want immediately to object, but Yamato too had observed the look on his normally reckless student's face and silenced them with but a wave of his hand. Naruto himself turned partially back to Temari, who was the only one his sensei had absolutely no sway over.

"I'll finish this up quick. I promise." Gaara's sister looked ready to be the second person to lay into the image of Naruto that minute, but managed to restrain herself with the same kind of fortitude he demonstrated.

"You better." He nodded his thanks and understanding.

"Right, Sasuke, Temari, you're with me. Kakashi, Neji and Tenten, you stay out here in case one of them tries to slip away." Yamato commanded in an even tone, begrudgingly letting the Suna kunochi come with them because he knew there was nothing he could say or do otherwise. "I'll also take the medic, just in case. So Sakura-san, you're with me."

The pink-haired medical attendant had been thrust upon Sasuke when he'd refused to back down from the mission despite his prior injuries. Thankfully, the Godaime Hōkage's apprentice showed next to none of her master's obstinance as she nodded duly to the command.

"If Naruto isn't back within thirty minutes, I want you to go support him and leave the Akatsuki to us."

It wasn't the most ideal compromise, but Naruto knew that he couldn't afford to take that long anyway. But he also had no other choice to go, and so the decision was clear.

They sped off in different directions with only fleeting looks back. The remaining Team Yamato and the late addition dubbed 'Team Kakashi' headed forward to remove the obstruction from the entrance to the foreboding cavern, and Naruto threw himself far afield to where one of the sealing tags had been placed innocuously by a waterfall.

He possessed some heavy feelings for not divulging the whole truth to them. For one, he knew he couldn't. And secondly, even though he knew this was likely to be a more difficult challenge for him alone, he could honestly say he was looking forward to it.

Soon he would see the waterfall in his 'own' eyes, peeking through the thin copse of river-country foliage.

His other clones hadn't had much of a problem with the seals. It was as obvious a trap as it was devious. As soon as one removed the tags, the chakra imbued to break the seal would be forcibly syphoned off and copied into a doppelganger which had the exact same capabilities and looks as its donor.

For the clones which already had a minimal amount of his chakra, it meant that they would almost all lose what little they had and dispel instantly upon removal. That, or dispel themselves and the copy's copy with a single light tap. And even if one had managed to survive, it would not last long before its meager energy ran dry.

The Shadow-Clone was unwittingly the best counter to this barrier, and it would make quick work of most of the traps. Almost all of them.

One fifth. It should have been a 20% chance, but somehow Naruto knew that it was far more random than that, and yet predestined by some ironic hand of fate. And as much as he'd like to dally and figure out what had caused this happenstance, he knew that he had a duty to fulfill. Plus, he doubted even Jiraya himself could figure out what caused this absurd coincidence. Especially if it was true, and a divine intervention was at play.

Despite the urgent matter he knew he had waiting for him, he approached the clearing unhurriedly, not wanting to spook the guardian construct his clone had witnessed before it dispelled. It stood there atop its discarded tag waiting for him unwaveringly, making it obvious his caution was for naught.

He still did not move with alacrity, taking the time to observe the copy which, while it had all his weapons and clothes- was not _him,_ per se.

It was _her_.

"Hello, Ruby."


	17. Footnote

**Moshi wake arimasen deshita! Argh! I can't believe how fast this Spring Break has gone, and without a single update! The shame!**

 **Not really. I had a lot of stuff to do (including sleep, sleep is good). Plus I needed to accumulate "inspiration" (AKA binging a whole bunch of Anime series on Netflix and Amazon Prime. OMFG 'Made in Abyss' is so beautiful! Must find the OST and play it at all times!).**

 **So, that done, some good stuff happened, some not-so-good stuff too, but I guess it all evened out.**

 **Anyway, I'm back. And luckily I have a stockpile of chapters just for this sort of situation. So here is the first installment. I hope you like it ('cause if not, you're SOL, because the next four are already written).**

 **Mata, ne~**

* * *

"Hello Ruby."

It was her. No amount of fallible memories could deny her presence.

His other was not a vain person, hardly ever using that full-length mirror in her room. Yet he knew her face the way one knows one's own: with a vagueness and bias that made it less and more than the way it was to everyone else.

This was reality. But it was not real.

It was hard, but he would have to keep that in mind during this far-fetched scenario. No matter how much he wanted to reach out and touch her, the pseudo- girl would be more likely to take his hand than shake it. No life in those ghostly hands, no empathy in those silver eyes glazed with an ancient patina.

Did he really expect anything more from a product of an enemy incantation? The memory of his clone traveling faster than the speed of light had hit him with an image of her likeness, and that was all that counted. The fact that she had unhesitatingly cut down his copy mattered not. He only knew he had to see her.

"And now, here you are." He marveled as 'she' just kept staring at him.

At least she wasn't attacking him yet, though.

Why was that? Yet another mystery to chalk up to the absurdity which life handed them.

"You're name's Ruby Rose." At least he thought it was. It was her face, but his clothes and his weapons. Whose body would it be underneath? He didn't care to speculate. Her silence left enough to the imagination. "You do know that, don't you?"

She continued to play dumb and stiff as a scarecrow. Which was a far cry from the memory his clone had presented, where her natural speed was on dazzling display for those entire sixteen milliseconds.

"What are you even doing here?" He guffawed, shaking his head with incredulity. "You checking up on your dumb Oniisan to make sure he hasn't gotten himself into trouble?"

The term felt stiff as the rest of the sentence. They had tried all manner of endearments on one another. In one breath he was her older brother, and in some ways the younger. In another, they were a long-distance couple who refused to know that it wouldn't work out. They were one and the same, but also so much more than any words could describe. That was also why his dialog had felt so stale; he was trying to fill a space where nothing belonged. Hoping to incite some kind of reaction, preferably non-violent.

"Holding still's not going to make the moment last forever, you know?" He offered with a lopsided smile. "I'm going to have to go back soon. Either way, you can't stick around…"

It felt awful saying something like that. But he just had to keep reminding himself that this was not her. She was still lurking somewhere between his pupils and his conscience.

Wasn't she?

"Come on, out of the five of them, you chose to come out, right? Why? Give me something to work with."

Though he would not depend on her. It had taken him a lot longer to reach her than his memory did to reach him, and during that travel he'd been prepping a contingency just in case this construct would prove as hostile as the rest. Because he knew that once he'd lain eyes on her, he wouldn't be able to think up a reasonable strategy.

He'd always taken it for granted that she was watching, and it was a distraction now as he actively probed his mind for her aura which he'd never identified because he'd never been without. Like so many things that he'd come to experience, it was difficult to know everything that was going on in the moment, and so easy to let what was happening pass him by.

He managed to catch on to the projectile weapons hurled at him with enough time, however.

"So that's the way it's going to be, huh?"

With partial regret and partial excitement for what was about to occur he leapt backwards, away from the salvo which quickly expanded into a storm of kunai blotting out the sun on that otherwise cloudless day.

It was a simple matter to flicker away from impending doom and let the legions of metal rain down on the helpless foliage. It was so simple that he expected her to be waiting for him as his molecules went back to solid state. They overshot one another in the middle of the clearing and exchanged blows from their kusarigama, the metal on metal contact ringing like the windchimes hanging from the overhang outside the cabin in Patch.

The difference between their heights was negligible, and so Naruto held no advantage in reach but neither did he have to worry about the overengineered weapon making his own superfluous. It would come down to their individual skills with the unadorned kusarigama, and Ruby's likeness was not inhibited by the subtleties of the smaller blade. Like a baby bird which fell from its nest, when a weapon was put in her hand she learned to fly.

Blades coupled, they each yanked towards one another, bringing themselves in for a quick exchange of fists. Naruto's right cross was batted away by 'Ruby's' elbow in the first deviation from mirrored strikes. The kick which she shot at his stomach he tried to latch on to before it was revealed to be a feint, at the same time revealing that it was her lithe body underneath the baggy pants and jacket when her leg flowed dexterously upwards to his head.

He ducked and parried with his weapon, carving a wide circle with both scythes hooked to the other and disengaging halfway. He spun around with his own kick, heel driving into a reinforced block sandwiched between her elbow and knee. But just like with her attack, his leg drew back quickly, coiling into his stomach and shifting his momentum for a downward slash.

A resounding clang as the shafts crossed once again, skittering and sliding with a harsh schtick as the hooked blade drew back and tried to wrench the smaller opponent's weapon away. She gave freely, did not resist with that abnormal strength imbued to the unspeaking golem which kept pace with his own.

Backing off a few paces, two kunai flew from her hand at near point-blank range. It was a simple block for the haft of his kusarigama as he drew it across his body, chain whipping out after it and slicing the air with its lead counter-weight. The replica ducked carelessly, and even when he changed the serpent-path with a pulse of his Chakra, 'she' was not fooled and danced around its new course like water.

'Her' own chain dragged a deep gouge in the earth as she brought it up with a vertical swipe. Dust from the dry landscape filled the air and blocked his view, and he went on the defensive with the metal strand circling around him like a cyclone. Eyes darting back and forth amidst the fog of war, wary of any attack from any angle.

Movement from the right and he shot out at it. But it was a distraction: the tip of her chain teasing him as she flew underneath the cloud of dust with a shucking swipe meant to harvest his legs. He was supposed to jump, but he didn't. Having only just managed to produce a rasengan with one hand, he twisted his body around with almost as much flexibility as his counterpart and drove it into the ground in front of her.

Now it was his turn to disappear into the dust and debris.

Waiting, lurking. A shadow walking across his field of vision, coming and going in and out of extinction. He didn't hesitate, and pounced.

Flick of the wrist. Scythe brought around overhand. Another block, another shift. Repost. Hasty defense. Counter-attack. Retreat.

Repeat.

Naruto landed heavily on the chewed-up grass, wiping a bit of sweat which escaped from underneath his headband.

'Ruby' had yet to show any signs of fatigue.

"I gotta say, that's one impressive seal!" He applauded whoever designed the array for making the guardians so close in power to the original. In a way, it made him more excited knowing of such a manipulation of time and space.

It was clear to him by now that while she might have some of Ruby's features, he was fighting something that had parts of both. There was no other way it would last that long otherwise- something else was giving it chakra. And strength, was that his own or something borrowed as well? It was poor timing, but he hoped that Ruby really was this capable. It would allow him to sleep better at night.

Granted, he was also trying to keep her alive. The durability was supposed to be that of a clone, and he was sure that an overzealous strike would dispel her and negate what he was trying to do. Though nothing thrown at her had done so thus far, and he was a little wary of that implied.

Still, he had yet to scrape the surface of his bag of tricks. He had given up one and was waiting for reciprocity. If she could use her semblance as well as ninjutsu, that would change things. It was tempting to drag things out and try to coax it out of her, see the legendary ability too, with his own eyes.

But he was running out of time for such indulgences.

'She' was in no hurry, however. Patiently waiting for him to catch his breath and devise a better strategy. Almost like there was a living part of that creature which **wanted** him to succeed.

He would do his best to oblige.

His body blurred under the blank scrutiny of the guardian construct, being unsurprised when it re-materialized behind 'her'. The buzzing whoosh of movement had betrayed the action far ahead of time. Casually running the scythe along the length of 'her' back and blocking the attack which was too obvious for one who was familiar with the movements.

All too obvious.

Another Naruto- more likely the real one, reappeared in front of her flinging the chain to loop around 'her' waist. The feint was simple, and It wasn't unexpected 'Ruby' might have anticipated it. With an almost bored expression she greeted the other three linked metal strands, not even bothering to struggle as they encircled her wrists and ankles.

'She' was just that much slower. Not even talking about the real Ruby's speed, this body which fought him was as confused as he was, not quite used to either the power nor the sensation of battling in his world. The kusarigama just that much different a dynamic to make it a strange rather than familiar weight. It was hesitating.

He had realized this, which was also how he realized 'she' would not be as fast as him on the replacement technique, allowing him those crucial few hairsbreadths to set up his clones at the peripheries of the battleground.

What to do now? He had entrapped 'her', but his intention was not to dispel her (if he could indeed bring himself to strike her image down so casually). At the beginning of the match he had not given this question much thought, only planning so far ahead to restrain her.

There was a crazy idea jumping at the bit which offered a solution. It was a long shot, but he didn't have much of a choice. Also, not much to lose.

The basics of sealing were all he had had time for in the waning weeks of his training journey. Disappointed at not learning how to forge his own explosive notes, now he had to begrudgingly admit that perhaps the old pervert was right in having him learn the rudimentary storage seal first off. And not only because he probably would have blown himself up.

' _Seal!'_

A bit overzealous when cutting his finger, the bloody swipe streaked wide across the scroll and spattered upon the unfeeling face of his adversary, painting her deathly lips the color they should have been. The stark contrast polarizing ashen skin and for a moment she appeared to glow. He thought he caught a flash of cognition behind that stolen gaze, life- or something close to it.

As well, the idea perhaps that 'she' had allowed him to capture her.

But it was too quickly lost in the smoke.

The chains fell slack and he dropped to a knee, balancing the open scroll upon it with the still liquid kanji struggling to coagulate in the middle. The crimson letters solidified and appeared to pulsate once before turning dull black like the rest.

He released a pent-up breath along with his control, his copies disappearing with three small pops barely heard above the sound of rustling paper and his own beating heart. He tucked the 'full' scroll into the first of many such specialty pouches he had sewn into his jacket for just such a purpose.

That weight now secure with a quick loop-tie he allowed himself to finally relax. Only to then remember that he did not have that luxury.

"Damn." How much time had he expended? The fight felt quick but with his skewed sense of time it could have been the entire day gone by.

The sun was still high and, in his estimation, had not shifted by much. Though as he was looking at it with hand shaded against his brow, a dark spot floated across his vision. Squinting blue eyes picked out what looked like a bird silhouetted against the sun- not something out of the ordinary.

It just so happened that this avian seemed to have a passenger. And baggage.

What was the name of that Akatsuki member? Daniel? Dada? Didi? He wished once again that he had Ruby to remind him of the briefing in which so many names and rap sheets had passed by like movie frames. But it hardly mattered anyway, as he caught a shock of red hair in the claws of the buzzard which had just then conveniently angled towards him.

Fate, they said, was blind. That is, if he were to believe in such a thing.

The chain coiled in his hands gave off a low, undulating whistle as he twirled it like a bolo, judging the heft and wondering if he could make it that far with any accuracy. He'd not had much practice with an airborne target.

Would the criminal not notice him? Was there not the potential to hit Gaara by mistake? Even a small mistake on his part could send the weapon astray, let alone have the man change his fortuitous flightpath just one degree.

Now wasn't the time to doubt himself.

The low whistle became a piercing shriek as the chained weapon hurtled upwards at the airborne target. The fate that he did not believe in would also have the blond bomber distracted at just that time, glancing backwards to see if his pursuers had caught up with him.

"What the-?!"

He heard the outraged cry as the clay bird dropped out of the sky like a rock. Like it ought to have if not brought to life by the man's jutsu. Naruto had was already bounding through the sparse trees, having set his own course to intercept the wrapped-up package before it landed. He would not rescue his friend only to have him die from the fall.

Deidara- though in his mind he would still feel as if Dada was somehow right- saw his approach this time and even as he fell unleashed the remnants of his flock upon the blond Jinchῡriki.

The explosions went off like firecrackers as the hummingbird-sized bombs dived after him. But they were just clay imitations of the real thing, and he had already proven to be faster than a copy that day. He flashed in quick succession before any of them could land so much as spark on the orange scarf trailing over his shoulder. In between his rapidly vibrating atoms he could see the gnashing scowl of his equally blond adversary who had no other means to stop his spamming of the body-flicker technique.

It was inevitable that he would reach the body of his companion, still firmly held in the clutches of that overgrown modernist statue. Deidara was not about to let him get away with his costly prize, but would have no say in the matter as Naruto kicked the hog-tied bird-sculpture at the artist. The sculpture presented enough distraction for the bomber and enough mass for Naruto to kick himself and his friend away from the foiled criminal, the man cursing up a storm as he rummaged around in his pockets for more explosive.

The man could send squadrons of bombs his way but Naruto would just outrun them now that he had his friend back in his arms. He had a keen sense of priorities and held no delusions that he could best the S-ranked ninja on his own. The rest of his team had likely already run him ragged, as even now they popped up in the peripheries of his senses, close on the heels of their prey. Three allies speeding their way towards the landing site.

Backup had arrived. Now, all he had to do was land safely on the-

He dropped the limp body as if it had burned him- which was not far from the truth as the next instant 'Gaara' ballooned outwards and exploded in a cacophony of noise and a nova of light.

Toes touching down on the ground again, he took to a familiar knee and breathed a sigh of relief. As he patted himself down, searching for smoldering patches of cloth and checking to make sure all his digits were still attached, his hand wandered over that lump in his jacket.

He hated to associate the feeling of precognition in with Déjà vu, because he honestly hadn't known it was coming. It was more along the lines of a gut feeling- though even that did not do it justice.

Regardless- he did not have time to sit and ponder the unknown feeling as he had to relocate the bomber and track down the real body of his friend.

"Naruto!" Temari's familiar face was the first one to greet him from out of the abused and charred foliage. "Are you alright?"

"Fine." He said with assuredness, standing up to his full height which was just about even to the kunochi. "What about you? And the others? How many are with you?"

"We're fine, thanks." The lackadaisical answer came before the man known as Sharingan-no-Kakashi appeared hot on her heels. "Tenten managed to snag Deidara with a kunai laced with dye which we could track, so we pursued him hoping that you'd be able to follow our trail." The man smiled behind his mask, Naruto only now getting used to the strange manner in which the cloth went taught in the cheeks and his eye scrunched up in a U. "It seems like you caught up as well."

"Seems so." Naruto replied with his own uncovered smile.

"Oi! Quit lagging!" A rough voice Naruto didn't recognize called from the trees. There was a rustle and a small pug wearing a stripped-down Konoha uniform alighted on a branch. "I'm the one with short legs, here! Kakashi, you shouldn't call me out just to make me wait!"

"Sorry Pakkun." The silver-haired man apologized, the three quickly regaining their pace and taking to the trees now that they had rounded up their last member.

"Nice to meet you, Pakkun-san." The ninja-dog looked back mid-leap at the strangely grinning blond and gave him a curt nod.

"There'll be time for introductions later," The Jōnin came up from behind them as they sped after the dog's nose. "We don't know how soon we managed to interrupt them in the sealing. It's possible that Gaara might still be alive."

As the elder and more experienced shinobi, it was not Kakashi's job to baby them with assurances that everything was going to be alright. All he needed to do was provide a bit of hope, and he knew Naruto would take care of the rest.

"Right." The blond teen's face hardened and so did his eyes as they pierced through the treetops and spied a sand-colored patch against the blue sky. "Is that them?" He asked of the pug, getting a panting grunt in response.

"Where's your kusarigama?" Temari asked in sudden concern, delaying him.

"Don't need it." She readied her fan in support, already knowing he was about to do something rash. "After all, it's just a weapon!"

It wasn't just leaves that were picked up this time by his rapid movement- splinters from where his feet dug into the thick branches and a residual smell of ozone flew into their faces as he disappeared.

"Oh, so you survived after all?" Their target spoke casually, glancing above and behind himself from his one eye poking out behind his blond ponytail. "I suppose you didn't like my replica? No? Well, I can't blame you. Art is fleeting, ephemeral, and unreproducible." His fellow blond ignored him as he fell like an arrow straight at him and his ride.

"In fact, one might say…" Simply reaching in to his satchels and tensing as the boy drew ever nearer. "… that art is an explosion!"

Laughing maniacally at once again getting the chance to deliver his line to a fresh audience, nonetheless his cackling was drowned out by the consecutive blasts which lit up the sky, eclipsing the daylight.

He had saved those especially for the other Jinchῡriki, kept them in reserve until the foolish brat decided to show his face. They were coated in a special powder in which a one-two punch dispersed it and the second charge ignited it, creating a powerful and concussive air-burst which would be guaranteed to knock anyone off his tail. Even though they were not designed to kill, they would certainly send even the stubbornest combatants for a loop. And he had covered the skyline with them. There would be no way for the teen and his vaunted technique to flash out in time.

So then, why did his kidney feel like it was about to implode?

"H-how did you escape my panorama?"

"You're right that beauty is fleeting." No answer, only another anvil-like blow came to his shoulder, and he could hear the sound of his collar bone snapping. "-and there is no substitute for the real thing." His leg buckled as a heel drove itself into the back of his knee.

Deidara could imagine the look of the blond from his voice alone- deducing that somehow that boy had made it out without a wound. But not unscathed. Oh yes, Deidara recognized the pained sound of someone who had lost. It was such a common response in all his audiences, and it offered a sliver of condolence as his uninspiring ending loomed near.

"But you know what?" The voice whispered to him, and he could smell the sweaty breath, heavy with his own sulfur tickle his ear. "Sometimes a copy can do some good. Sometimes pretending is good enough."

The knuckles driving into his temple was debilitating, but to a man who had stifled himself and his desires for years while being lashed down to mundanity by his village, it was a trifle pain.

"Don't think you're so hot, ungh!"

Naruto was gone as soon as the Akatsuki swept his legs underneath him, disappeared into thin air.

"You shouldn't try to pass yourself off as something greater, kid!" Deidara reached behind his head to catch the attacker's wrist, twisting the kunai out of its grip and shoving his mouthed palm into the boy's gut.

"Baku!"

The blast radiated outward, focused by the chakra in his hands and consuming the blond once again in a fiery inferno. There was no way the Jinchῡriki could have escaped that, but until he saw the charred corpse Deidara wasn't letting his guard down.

Though he was not expecting a dragon made of flame to come biting back at him through the cloud of smoke. He cursed and leapt up and away from the beast, landing on his mount as it flew upwards to greet him. But the infernal dragon was hot on his tail after a knotted turnabout.

By now he was running short of explosives, but he could afford to spend at least a small one on this, letting the dragon chomp down on a wad of his C1 attack and detonate from the inside.

"Bunch of amateurs…"

"Then how 'bout something original?"

The copies of Naruto which he'd only now noticed helped explain how the boy had dodged his attacks, twice, but even as he was about to decry the unoriginality of the clones, they coalesced mid-air and transformed into a puff of smoke.

What came out was pure art- if you were into that gothic-macabre scene.

A creature as black as midnight shrieked once at him, dispelling the smoke with one bat of it's massive wings as it dove straight as a bullet. It was so fast, so enthralling that he didn't even try to fly out of its unstoppable trajectory, the bone-white mask carving through the belly of his bird like it was little more than paper-mâché. It snatched the redhead up with surprising delicacy before hurling the unconscious Kazekage down towards the ground. Deidera himself missing the boy's fate as he was thrown clear of the squawking, warbling massacre moments before it combusted.

Though he was not let alone even after losing his prize, as before he could land he was carried upwards again by the vindictive wind. Spared from the ground, but not from demise as the demon bird emerged seemingly unscathed from the dissipating cloud.

"What kitsch! Your tawdry tricks won't work twice!"

He would be more than ready by the time the snapping jaws of the ravenesque creature snapped at him, throwing a baseball-sized wad of clay into the air and trading places with it, letting the bird-brain chomp down on it much as the dragon had.

Except there was something inside of this avian, an intelligence that was not there within the Jutsu and as a result, it batted the ball of explosives away before riding the thermal updraft back at Deidera. For this unexpected maneuver, the razor-sharp beak of the predator got uncomfortably close before he managed another short-range concussive which nailed it square in the chest, knocking it back towards the ground with a breathless keening.

Only for it to break apart like a piñata, spilling Naruto's clones every which-way.

Most were still headed towards the ground, but from the tree-line emerged a magic-carpet piloted by a sandy blonde to whisk one of them away, the rest pairing up with one apiece transforming into a giant shuriken which was then hurled at Deidera as he silently applauded the seamless transition.

As the blond bomber dodged with relative ease, Naruto and Temari conferred whilst adrift on her fan.

"Can you give me a boost?"

It was a request more than an actual question, but it was still good to ask. Could she do so and still maintain her flight? Or would she have to sacrifice her airborne position to get Naruto close in for the kill?

Either way, it was going to happen. She had her brother back, safe in the arms of Kakashi waiting for the two of them far below. She would do her best to indulge this faith in her, it was only fair that she try.

"Make it count!"

They both leapt off the massive battel-fan in their own direction. Temari kicking the sturdy metal into her hand, and Naruto focusing his energies into the palm of his hand. They were not that high up, but it would still hurt massively, so she would only have a small window to catch herself after she shuttled him on his way.

Naruto… she was sure he'd be just fine.

Whispering the name of her attack like a prayer and inverting her usual routine of focusing all of her chakra to a fine point, she heaved a disperse gust underneath Naruto's descending form. Making him shoot off like a rocket straight at Deidera who was still preoccupied with the clones, and shunting her off in the opposite direction towards the ground.

There were only seconds before she hit the trees, but before deigning to catch herself she twisted upwards to watch the finale. The blue, almost white spinning orb in Naruto's hand catching the sun and looking almost like the North Star as it plowed into a staggered Akatsuki.

A blue star, from which all wanderers found their way home.

* * *

The weightlessness, without purpose or direction. Deafness, not even an echo. Blackness, without beginning or end.

Was this what dreaming was like? Or was this death? What was the difference anyway? Was sleep not just that little death before the long rest, or was the eternity after life merely the beginning of a greater awakening?

To sleep. To sleep, and perchance to dream. But what dreams may come to those who slumber? For him there was nothing. No fanfares awaited, no loved ones at the gates of a pure and perfect world. It was a dismal experience. But then he was so tired anyway that it didn't matter. He was afraid, but would meet that cold embrace like an old friend.

Friends… he could almost hear their calling him from the other side, a life like his own which was so close to ending. He knew them, didn't he? Though never spoken a word, or shared a view, or felt the sympathetic vibrations of the heart strings, he knew.

"Hey there."

Words like an arm reaching out to pluck him from that fathomless pool, towards the surface but away from that distorted reflection. He let it, for he knew this voice too.

"N-Naruto… is that you?"

He didn't expect he'd be so lucky, but what did it hurt to hope?

"It's nice of you to remember after all this time."

How could he forget? The memory of his light illuminated him through the depths of his past.

"Are you… are you dead too?"

A chuckle, the tinkling of bells.

"Not quite yet. Either of us. Not for a while, I hope."

"But… how?" His voice was dry and cracked, someone pressed the lip of a bottle against his lips and trickled water down his throat. "But, how?" He repeated the question, this time wondering why his omnipresent shield of sand did not block the gentle touch. Surely that meant he was dead. "I-I remember… the Akatsuki. They- that one, Deidara, attacked the village. We fought. He won, didn't he? So then…"

If he had indeed not perished, then everything he knew about life had been wrong.

"It's over now." The familiar voice reassured. "It was all just a bad dream. Just go back to sleep, and when you wake everything will be alright."

The request was sweet solace to ears which had heard too much. Nonetheless, fear erupted in his heart where before there hadn't been anything, even when staring his own mortality in the face.

"Sleep? I can't sleep. If I sleep, the demon will gain control, and no one will be safe." Heart racing and letting him know that he was still alive only served to increase the impending panic.

"I won't let him." The arms holding him tightened, reigning in his rampant emotions. "Rest now, and when you wake again, I'll be here."

"Is that a promise?" Even if this was just a dream, in the loftiest of wishes he could never desire a better one. "You'll be there when I… when I wake? And Temari, and Kankuro?"

"Of course. They're here too, and more. We're all here for you, Gaara. I swear to you."

"You will… wait for me?"

His leaden body rocked as he was gently lowered to the ground, away from that thing keeping him afloat. He tried desperately to reach out and recapture his hold on reality, but all he managed to do was wiggle his fingers which raked through a different kind of sea.

Sand. His home. Even though he missed the radiating warmth from the body pressed up against him, the heat still trapped in the earth throughout the day was almost as inviting. And when he became aware of that, he noticed the other traces of the desert. Smelled the tang of salt and earth, listened as a sirocco played music over the glassy dunes which was a lullaby to his head as well as his heart.

"I will sleep as well. Next to you, so that when you wake I will be right there, waiting for you."

"Thank you… Naruto."

"Sleep well, my friend."

* * *

It was hard waking up. Going to bed right after dinner and sleeping until the alarm went off at 7:30, It somehow felt like she had been asleep for days.

At the same time, when she had finally thrown back the covers and lifted herself out of bed with a cat-like stretch to the ceiling the desire to sleep was banished and she was brimming with motivation to start the day.

She shifted her legs over the edge and let herself drop to the ground. It was longer than expected, and only when her gut threatened to jump out of her throat did she remember their new sleeping arrangements. She managed to organize her legs underneath her, landing silently on all fours.

A glance around the room showed her that the rest of her team had come back sometime during the night after she'd gone to bed. Good. That was a welcome sign that their burgeoning relationships were not as bad as she'd gone to sleep surmising. She thought herself silly for ever having painted things to be so gloomy.

Whatever part of her that had felt like that was also excised during the night, a little bit of her fears bottled up and shipped away on the outgoing tide.

The sun always rose, snows always melted, and things always got better. Proven once again of these unquestionable truisms, she set about making sure her body was as ready as her mind to commence the day's activities.

First, breakfast.

Today would be better. That was at least what Yang thought. They were eating together, if that was any indication.

In their family, one could sit through dinner with a scowl or a pout, pushing peas around the plate with a fork and a stare burning enough to caramelize onions. It didn't matter, because as long as everyone was at the table things could be resolved. It was only when someone was absent that something was truly wrong, and nothing could be fixed. She could count the number of those occasions on one hand, and still have a thumb left over.

Half of those times had been after Ruby had been sent away.

Shaking the memory away all too easily, Yang gave a cautious smile to the group at large. Quiet though they might have been, but a good deal better than open hostility.

"What's got into you?"

"Mm, nothing." The soft smile which had creeped Weiss out turned into one of knowing as she went back to the half-eaten quiche on her plate.

The heiress to the Schnee family fortune hovered her skeptical gaze over the blonde for another moment longer before turning back to her leader and partner. Yang's attitude was strange, but it was Ruby who had been the sole focus of her scrutiny for the past 24 hours.

Giggling as she took another almost-erotic bite of her ice-cream Sunday- was this really Signal's best and brightest? Professor Port had let that fact slip during his dismissal of her complaints. And though her ego still reeled at the insults leveled at her, there was a certain amount of truth that she couldn't deny. There was little chance that the seemingly immature girl was accepted on a fluke. It made sense that she would have had prior records to show her accomplished status.

And yet, something just didn't add up.

Weiss was still waiting for the hard-copies of Signal's records to be scrounged up from her father's sources. It would be far easier to simply take the teacher's words for it, play along with the rational. Although, how could she? Ruby's social awkwardness and strange paranoia painted an incomplete picture, especially hanging next to the pinnacle of achievement and dignity which was Pyrrha Nikos.

"Now who's staring?"

"Am not!" She denied fervently, shoving her face back into her salad and stabbing a cherry tomato meanly.

Just because Weiss had not taken advantage of her distraction did not mean that Yang was going to give the same curtesy. She was about to prod the bejesus out of the stuck-up girl who could really stand to be taken down a peg or four, when a sharp intake of breath drew the collective attention to the head of the table.

"What? What's the matter Ruby?" Yang was immediately on her feet, ready to rally to the defense of her sister.

But the youngest's attention was fixed at the entrance and did not register her sister's call. Suddenly a dust-devil kicked up at the table, sending utensils and scraps of food flying in all directions as their leader disappeared. Yang could only blink after the storm had passed and search frantically to where her sister had darted off to.

"Ruby!"

"Velvet!"

Like a game of Marco Polo without a blindfold she found her target all too easily. And with that same childhood nostalgia came the sight of her sibling latched around a familiar face. A plain one, if not for the bowed rabbit ears perched on her head and an expression that looked like she wanted to drop what she was doing and crawl into the safety of the ground- Ruby and all.

"Hey there, Pipsqueak!"

Another familiar face- though it would be more correct to say a familiar smirk which was the only thing recognizable underneath a new pair of designer sunglasses and a constantly changing wardrobe.

The rabbit-girl's expression shifted as her own recollection surmounted shyness. She dropped the thankfully empty lunch-tray and returned the enthusiastic embrace with almost as much gusto, nuzzling the head which was already buried in her chest.

"Ruby! It's so good to see you! What are you doing here?"

As the sight of her sister was partially swallowed up by the behemoth and the ruddy-skinned boy who entered with the two women, the various onlookers turned their attentions back to their own conversations and business. Out of sight, out of mind.

Yang too relaxed, but kept an ear out across the noisy lunch-room. She would say hello as well in due course, but let her sister relish the special bond she shared with the two older women.

Not much caring as long as no one was in danger and with her tuna-fish sandwich finished off by the gale, Blake went back to her book. Or so it seemed to everyone else who was watching her face and not her bow which twitched in the direction of her captain and the new Faunus. A smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

Weiss was in a way comforted seeing her partner in the presence of upper-classmen. The tidbit she deduced from the fact that she had not seen them during the entrance exam. She would find the greeting a little un-dignifying and off-putting. And yet at the same time, there was a pang of jealousy she could not deny, wishing her own sister would be as understanding.

Not that she'd ever admit it out loud, either.

Yes, that day would indeed be better.

* * *

"Naruto," It was hard to tell with that greeting if the woman was overjoyed or annoyed to see him. He was banking on the latter being due solely to the mountain of paperwork on her desk. He would hope, anyway. "What can I do for you today? You shouldn't be taking any more missions right away after returning from Suna."

That was probably wise. He was still tired himself from the emotional roller-coaster he'd been through and the almost-literal race they'd had there and back.

"I don't need to tie you to your bed to make sure you get some rest, do I?" This time, he knew the dangerous twitch in her eye was all for him.

"Er-No, that's all right Baa-Hōkage-sama."

Her eyes were appraising now, none of that previous danger or lethargy remained. Sharp. Becoming of a leader.

"Speak, then."

She did her best to sound professional. Not missing the affectionate slip but making an effort not to sound disappointed or weary for what was sure to be another long day and additional tonnage stacked on her desk.

"Actually, I sorta wanted to talk about the mission- well, more about the Akatsuki…" Her chocolate eyes blinked, the only signal that she'd heard what he'd said and eventually he took that as permission to continue. "I- we know they're collecting Bijῡ," That much was almost common knowledge now, along with the fact that the organization contained some of the most hardened criminals in the shinobi world. "though we still don't know for what."

Another blink. So what?

Naruto heaved a heavy sigh, wondering not for the first time how he sounded to others. He no longer had someone to bounce things off of, and there were still reservations about what he nonetheless knew he had to do.

"For now, it doesn't really matter what they're doing. I mean- it does in the long run, but not for me or the others. Gaara… we got lucky with him. But we can't exactly rely on the other villages having someone like Chiyo-baasama who can bring them back to life after the extraction." The village elder had given her life in an even exchange for Gaara's, and he would never forget that. "We have to protect them, make sure the Akatsuki don't get their hands on them." He would try to avoid someone having to do it again, if at all possible.

"The other Hidden-Villages have already been put on alert and are doing whatever they deem prudent to protect their Jinchῡriki." She tapped her finger against the desk impatiently, already sensing the boy's emotional investment. "And we have a tacit agreement to share information on the Akatsuki whenever it pops up. I admit, it's not ideal, but you can't just erase generations of animosity between villages with the snap of a finger."

Not like you could erase a lifetime of memories from a single person.

"I know what you're thinking, though." He might have laughed if the situation were not so dismal. "And I'm not going to let one of my shinobi go traipsing off across the countryside to fraternize with other Village's ninja on my dime. _Let alone_ one of the very people the Akatsuki are looking for!" She rested her head on her fist, staring at him with a look he found to be contemptuous.

"Think! Naruto. You're not stupid. What would you do, anyway? You may be a chῡnin-possibly even a jōnin if push comes to shove. But all of their members are S-ranked and travel in pairs. There's also no way I could spare anyone else to babysit you either. If I had my way, I would put you as far away as possible from their reach- the moon if necessary! Not bunch you all up in a single spot so they can harvest you like a suckling pig!"

He took it all with a mute grace that was unbecoming to all who knew him. It was not like he hadn't expected this. Hadn't known what to say to it, either. But he had hoped that being confronted with it in the moment something might come to mind.

"Does that mean we can't try?" He asked sincerely.

The woman sighed, showing her years behind that mask of youth.

"What would you have me do, Naruto? Not only are you important to this village, but I kind of like you, too. But that doesn't mean I can forget about my other obligations. When I took this position, I agreed to be the Hōkage first, and everything else a distant second including Tsunade Senju. Would you have me grovel to the other Kage to allow us to manage their Tailed-Beasts for them? Do you not understand how naïve and pathetic that would make me appear?"

She had not been flattering when she said he was not dumb. He was in fact rather bright, else he would not be at the rank he was, or have survived nearly as long. But sometimes she wondered with social matters if he just chose to ignore them, or if somehow he didn't quite see the way everyone else saw.

Who knows, maybe that was the mark of a true genius?

"They aren't just Tailed-Beasts." Had tried to keep his cool all throughout the verbal redress. But to have the distinction between container and beast dismissed, he could not help an angry spark shoot down his arm and clench his fist. "They're human beings."

"You're right." Tsunade steepled her hands and stared at Naruto passed them. "They're _only_ humans. Just like all of them." She jerked her finger to the open window, passed it over the throngs of people who looked more like ants from this height. It would make them no easier to crush.

Most of them were civilians. Plebeians who would never be famous, never accomplish anything memorable, and never amount to much even with hordes of them backing a single goal. From this perspective they were just numbers like everyone else. Even the shinobi were expendable. Like him. Konoha had invested a lot in his training and protection, but that would just make it slightly more difficult to replace him. The same went for the other containers, all the way up to the Kage. People were measured by usefulness, not by how many they were mourned.

But he couldn't think like that. Each of those lives might be another like his- like Ruby's. The other side of that glass was the same distance away as that untouchable and unidentifiable mirror which played out his alternate life. Each of those people might as well have been him, and he could not rate the lives of kindred spirits above the rest.

Friends were just people one had not met yet.

"Do you understand, now?" She had already crossed the desk and lay a hand on his shoulder. Less like a leader and more like a mother. A leader of a different kind. "I have to make decisions which will protect as many people as I can. Sometimes they are hard, but I cannot afford to have a bias. Is this not the way things should be done?"

Was it? Where had such attitudes gotten them? Sometimes it was okay to settle, yet why do so when the truth was right in front of you and so much more beautiful than the compromise could ever be? Perhaps they had simply told themselves for so long that 'this was the best way', that now all believed in that delusion. Ignoring the miracle which happened if one only looked.

"I do." He allowed that righteous anger to bleed away. "You must do what you feel is right." And he would do likewise.

He had conceded to her, which was all that was supposed to matter. But there was also his wording, and the way his eyes never ceased to dance with a hidden flame which even the deluge she'd heaped upon him failed to extinguish.

She dismissed him all the same. Sent him off to rest and recuperate, but more likely to scheme and study and train himself into the ground like she'd seen him do that time so long ago.

Maybe it was that memory which made her ignore the anxiousness which came with his parting words. She should have continued to be the village leader, threatened him with the consequences of what she knew he was planning. Yet, even her eyes jaded through years and hardships still sought out that divining light which shone in his wake. Was it too much for an old woman to dream of a better day?

* * *

To the moon, huh?

Far, far away, where no one would ever find them. It was just that simple. Just that difficult. Some might say impossible.

That was becoming his specialty.

How far, how fast would an arrow need fly to reach that pale sphere? It was just a distance, after all. He would bury himself in study to cross that infinite expanse, anything less than that would be child's play. At last he had all the tools to accomplish this.

Fuinjutsu scrolls in one hand, there was a photograph in his other-something Jiraya would give to him all too willingly with a lecherous wink attached. A line or two would accompany it, but that was all.

A blonde woman with a stature which would harken of Pyrrha Nikos, and a bearing which would remind him of Blake. All that gathered from a picture of her twisted halfway, looking over her shoulder with a feral glint in her eyes and sniffing out the photographer with a sharp and unforgiving ken. He would read the lines, committed them to memory along with the image.

"Number Two. Nii Yugito."

He would not let another one of them perish.


	18. Thought Experiment

**I take your silence as approval. Except for that one guy. You know who you are. You rock.**

* * *

Only when he finally put down his brush would the effort of the day hit him like a tidal wave. Would he have not paused to wipe a strand of his ever-growing hair out of his eyes he might have kept writing even longer into the night, perhaps until day. Or was it day now? His candles had long since sunken into cold calderas, but as of yet there was no burgeoning glow on the horizon through his frosty window panes.

He could only hope that his diligent efforts weren't causing Ruby to sleep in and miss any classes. They never had quite figured out how that worked between them. If they were a tag-team in a universal effort, or if they occupied the same volume in an hourglass filled with half as much sand.

Maybe it was a weekend. He'd lost track of the days, like he'd lost track of the hours.

Time. Funny, he should think of that now. There had never been enough of it, even if they were both 'awake' endlessly. Ruby, too had spent many late nights this week. Studying, trying to catch up to her peers. It was a shame she did not have the Shadow-Clone technique.

What would it look like from her end anyway? Could she too reap the benefits of having those multitude of thoughts? He didn't know what he would do if it were painful for her. No. He would stop using it. He owed her at least that much. For what he put her through.

It wasn't just her, though. He suffered as well, alongside.

But it would be born silently. Never would he wish to undo those years, and never could he dismiss them as wasted. He'd spent enough time wallowing in the past to know it wasn't going anywhere, and that was where it should stay. No, now his goal was to move forward, as fast as possible.

Again, lamenting how he would always feel a step behind everything else.

If he didn't, would he be as far along?

He tried picking the brush back up, but his hand cramped and it clattered unto the parchment-covered table, rolling off and disappearing onto the floor. He grabbed his wrist and glared at the appendage until it stopped shaking.

Not that he should be angry, for his body had proven resilient to this new kind of exercise. All those years spent writing to Ruby had improved his penmanship. Not just with the blocky Roman characters, but in his native hiragana and kanji as well. It helped when he finally delved into the esoteric art of seals, his wrist muscles were flexible enough to take on the daunting challenge presented.

Which would be great, for challenging it was indeed.

But he could not afford to give up, now or ever. The Akatsuki were not going to stall their plans to wait on him. And not only did he need to have an edge, he needed to have something to present to his fellow Jinchῡriki to prove his worth.

Fuinjutsu would take him far, of that he had no doubt. And this technique he was working on would do so at speed he could never have dreamed of- maybe even faster than Ruby.

Someday, perhaps, he would go for the distance. Shoot for that ultimate destination which was lightyears farther away than the twinkling stars, and yet closer than the blanket spread over his legs giving him warmth.

No, he would never give up. Never again.

He was just going to take a little nap now…

* * *

"Miss Rose!"

"Yes!"

After a few blinks she found herself in the middle of class. And along with that, discovered that the darkness was just the lighting in the room and not the back of her eyelids. Eventually she would also find the unamused stare of Ms. Goodwitch appraising her from the height of the stage.

"Since you don't seem to find the previous spars very interesting, perhaps you might care to entertain the rest of us for a while?"

Glynda Goodwitch. Blonde, beautiful, strong and with a fierce streak that could send a Beowulf simpering. That description actually fit quite a few in Ruby Rose's life, and she'd have to be careful not to let those prior impressions drop her guard. None of the other genial women were quite as hard, quite as ruthless as the way this one portrayed herself.

"Yes ma'am."

Did she know she was letting Ruby off the hook? Already relieved that she had not leapt out of sleep with something stupid on her lips, she no longer had to speak at all and simply fight her way out of this situation.

It'd be a piece of cake.

"Lie Ren."

Good choice. Middle of the pack. The tall, lanky boy stood up when called without a word and left through the same doorway to prepare himself for the match.

Moments later as she stood across from him in the ring, she would take in his loose defensive stance with less enthusiasm than before.

Perhaps it would be wrong for her to hope for someone like Pyrrha Nikos. The only fights out of the champion had been as short as Ruby's own, and both too few and far between. Neither had displayed their prowess to the student body, and she was sure they both felt an itch to correct that.

But perhaps it was for the best. She hadn't come into this semester wanting to stick out. And there was no way to do anything but that if she went up against the Spartan women. Win _or_ lose.

"Are the combatants ready?"

Here, there wasn't an option.

"Begin!"

She would have to win.

* * *

"You should really try and get some more sleep." Blake informed her leader tonelessly.

Ruby did not have a response ready for that, expecting the motherly advice to come from her sister. Or in a more scolding tone from Weiss. But her sister wasn't saying anything, and her partner had been silent ever since the match. Or maybe it began before that? It was true that she had been in and out of sleep for most of the morning and had not noticed.

It had been a late night studying once again. Trying to catch up on the knowledge that she'd missed, if not the years.

The truth was that Weiss had noticed Ruby's dedication. Not to mention her skills. She had nothing to say against the girl anymore. Not for now.

Ruby's mouth opened, but instead of a reply she let out a gaping yawn.

"See?"

"Yes, _Mom_."

Yang stopped in their midst and they all had to swerve to avoid her.

"Yang?"

The blonde stared like a fish, lips parted and eyes wide.

"What's wrong?"

That would have been her question. Never in the past had she ever heard Ruby joke about that subject. It was difficult to know whether to be pleased or scared, but being stunned was not helping her.

"Are… **you** okay, Ruby?"

"Yes." She yawned once again. "Just a little tired. Why?"

"No reason." She shook her head dismissively.

They all took this answer with skepticism, looking at her until she brushed them off and walked on. The moment would disappear like that, but a thought would remain as a souvenir in Weiss's mind.

 **Both** the sisters were strange.

"Ruby." A voice called out from behind them and they were once again paused on their way to class.

Though perhaps 'called' is not the best description. The tone was so lax and halcyon that it barely registered as a statement. Nonetheless, they knew who it was immediately.

"Hey… Ren."

Almost immediately. Despite having just gotten out of the ring with the young man, she remembered his weapons and the way he carried himself more than his looks or his name. Somehow, he seemed to know this as instead of looking offended, there was a congenial smile on his face as he approached the clowder of girls with a small wave.

"Hey, I just wanted to say that was a really impressive spar." There was evident admiration, more than someone licking his wounds normally had.

"Easy there, Romeo." Yang moved the half-step in between her and her sister with an accusatory eyebrow arched. "Don't you think you've got enough to handle with that energizer bunny on your team?"

The almost effeminate young man was almost bowled over by Yang's suspicious tone, but it only took moments before that imperturbable air was reestablished.

"Oh, no. We're just old friends." He claimed with absolute sincerity and fervent hand-waving, looking the blonde dead in her eyes. "Besides, I wasn't here for… _that_. I really meant what I said. Me and my team were just wondering if you guys would like to hang out some time. Maybe do some extra training together when we're not in class?"

"Oh…"

The boxer had grace enough to look suitably chagrinned. She had been keeping a wary eye on JNPR and its leader, and her impression of that boy somehow spread to the team at large. At least the male portion, for she assumed that was the only possible explanation as to what had set Ruby off previously. Not that she held anything against the male species, or even any of her classmates. Just that she had been negligent in her duties as an elder sister for far too long, and was now overcompensating for it.

"Actually, Pyrrha was the one who suggested it." Ren admitted.

"Oh yeah?" Wary of a bait and switch, Weiss stepped forward to defend her team from the perceived threat. "Then where is she? And where's the rest of your team?"

"Right there." The boy pointed nonchalantly behind him.

They all poked their heads over his shoulder to see JNP(R) down the corridor, and the tall redhead waving innocuously at them mouthing the word 'hello'.

"Oh…"

"We were just headed back to the dorm because Nora forgot her books." They all ignored the ginger girl's yelling, something about how Ren was the responsible one and it was his fault he didn't remind her. "Perhaps though our teams could get together for lunch later on, too?" He continued unperturbed, clearly used to his friend's antics.

Lunch? With someone who wasn't her sister or a friend who was so shy she'd whisper a battle cry? A social-bonding exercise which would put her lack of said skills on glaring display in front of a whole bunch of her peers whom she'd be with for the next four years of her academic life?

"Sure! Sounds great."

Only thing left was to believe that herself.

* * *

If only she could be anywhere else but there right now. This was agony, pretending to be chatty and bubbly and… normal. Why was she doing this again?

Oh yeah.

Because she wanted to be all those things (except perhaps the last one, the jury was still out on that). And the best way to do so was to put herself into this situation and keep telling herself it was for the best. Keep telling herself it was good exercise, it built character, and all those other nice platitudes.

Even Blake appeared to be handling herself better, nose buried in her book and tuned out from the world.

If only she had such a fantasy to escape to.

Alas, such a place existed only in her dreams.

What was really so hard about this, anyway? They were friendly people, all of them. Personalities making them approachable like her sister or Velvet or Tenten- NO. No, no, no, no. She couldn't make that comparison- not yet. She still had her own troubles to deal with.

That Nora girl was a handful, but she also fit easily into Ren's palm. The boy himself was as peaceable as his introduction had projected, no falsehoods there. Pyrrha was divinely perfect in every way. Ruby hadn't expected anything less, but was still not prepared for the humility and kindness that she practically exuded out her pores like sweat. No, the hard part wasn't any of them.

It was trying to ignore the real issue.

She was poised diagonally and at the opposite end of the long table from _him_. From Jaune. She tried to say his name out loud in her head, so she wouldn't be tempted with something else. He was the farthest distance away from her that he could be and was so quiet and reticent that hardly any of the others even noticed him. To her, he was a big, glaring traffic cone in front of a grizzly accident where she should have looked away, but couldn't.

"Are you alright, Jaune?" Apparently she was wrong. Someone else did notice him.

Pyrrha's question cut across the table and severed the extraneous conversations going back and forth, and all eyes suddenly turned on the blond who was staring disinterestedly at a soggy potato-wedge. Though glad the attention wasn't on her, Ruby admitted an inkling of pity despite her aversion to the boy. After all, she knew that look.

"Huh? What makes you think that anything's the matter?"

"Well, because…"

"You really like crap."

Pyrrha, who had been trying to put it more delicately had to admit to the apt summation, and team RWBY minus their captain nodded sympathetically with Nora's frank assessment. The odd one out hiding behind her sister and trying to disappear as badly as Jaune was.

"Psh! That's crazy. I'm perfectly fine. See?"

Against her better judgment, Ruby peeked her head out to watch as he forced a toothy smile on his face, muscles straining against the unnatural task. She cringed. But perhaps in a good way. It was nothing like the smiles she was used to.

His action drew similar responses throughout the table, a few frowns, and not one eyebrow left un-furrowed.

"It's Cardin, isn't it?"

Now the expression was universally downturned lips as that name was brought up. Ruby herself went still as if someone had mentioned an impending danger, and her 'battle-mode' had suddenly clicked on.

"What makes you think that?"

Jaune asked with voice wavering like a harp string. If Ruby had been paying attention, she would have noticed that he was an even worse actor than she was. He never would have survived being a ninja. Let alone in her boots for an hour.

"Because he's always picking on you."

"What? Nah, it's just a little friendly fun."

"He's a bully."

She was sure there a few more words that would describe Cardin Winchester. But she didn't have enough loose change for the swear jar to use those.

"Well, maybe… but he's mean to everybody!"

Maybe it was fate playing her tricks again. Or maybe stuff like this just never occurred unless you just so happened to be talking about it, events frozen in space until one took the time to notice. Outcomes in limbo until an observation was made, decision finalized.

For there was the devil himself and they had only to turn their heads for him to exist.

"Ow! Please stop! It hurts!"

Reproving looks were the norm for the table containing RWBY and JNPR. But none lifted a finger against the scene in front of them. They let the members of team CRDL exercise their hegemony against someone who wouldn't fight back. The target of their harassment wasn't of the same class as them- both literally and figuratively. As if that somehow excused the boy's action, or their inaction.

Whatever poor justification there was, in the end the juvenile huntsmen were still toying with a woman's body parts. What did it matter if it happened to be rabbit ears?

"Disgusting…"

It was so. However, the victim was a Faunus. Thus, it was preordained that no one would lend a finger to help.

That was one of the possible outcomes. There was also another.

"Let. Her. Go."

* * *

In the moment just before these words there came a decision which had to be realized. One in which Ruby fulfilled that prophecy of the status quo and kept quiet, and one in which she stood up for her friend, for Faunus in general, and for herself. One in which Cardin and his cohorts were alive, and one in which they were dead.

There exist infinite possibilities as long as that box remains closed- as long as we do not look, do not read, dare not step forward to see what lies behind curtain #1. To know, to hear what happens next is to be reduced to one reality, in which the truth is what we expect to see.

* * *

"Heh, look at this, boys."

The teenaged brick wall momentarily ceased his tyranny of Velvet's ears to appraise this newcomer. It was a paradigm shift. No one had ever stood up to him before- and never would, for this puny girl barely topped his waist when he placed himself in front of her.

"No! R-run away Ruby!"

Not willing to speak up for herself, Velvet spent words on her. Was this not a true friend? Was she not more human than these apes?

"You're going to stop messing with her." Ruby stated in much the same flat tone Blake had used earlier, not tearing her gaze away from Cardin's lauding stare. "Then you're going to apologize. After that, you're going to go away, and never bother anyone again."

"Please, Ruby, don't get inv-!"

"Shut up!"

The large boy bit back a snarl at the woman still guarded closely by his snickering teammates. Then he turned back to Ruby.

"Run along little girl. You may have been hot-shit back at your old school, but without your weapon there's nothing you can do."

Ruby bowed her head as if conceding this fact, and the jock smirked in triumph.

"I'm sorry, Velvet."

The Faunus woman nodded at the floor. There was nothing to be sorry for, this was the way it was always meant to be.

"…but I'm not going to back down."

This would have normally been the place where a misogynistic teen like Cardin would have said something like 'you asked for it', or 'I'd like to see you try', or really any number of clichés that would have made for a dramatic encounter.

He had no time to even conceive of one of these tropes, however. Ruby was just too fast. No one even saw the kick which brought down the lunk with his hands clasped around _his_ most sensitive body part.

"Eeep!"

No pity. No hesitation, either, as she vaulted over the teen's back when he doubled over on the floor in agony.

One hand on her human landing-pad and both feet in the air aimed at the incredulous faces of team CRDL. One booted heel came down directly on Russel Thrush's nose, shattering it instantaneously and sending the boy sprawling back over a bench in a bloody mess. The second leg slid the rest of the way down Cardin' back, planted itself firmly on the floor and rocketed her at her next target sitting on top of the table.

Dove Bronzewing barely caught her movement behind his squinty-eyed gaze, and he had just managed to amble to his feet and throw a hasty punch in his defense when Ruby reached him. She teasingly let the fist flick her hair as her head moved to the side of it, before slamming the palm of her fist into his squarish jaw.

Though with him, she didn't stop there. Taking the offered appendage in her grip, she pivoted the larger boy over her hip and threw him at Cardin who might have just been regaining his breath when his comrade bowled into him. Both the boys landing hard against the floor and losing to gravity.

His teammate and his leader sprawled out at his feet, Sky Lark had all the evidence he needed to make an informed decision. He turned tail and ran, booking it as fast as he could away from this petit predator.

Cold, silver eyes watched him leave. Tracked him, as he tripped his way down the rows of students shoving gawping onlookers aside. Barely a tap of her foot and a lunch tray found its way into her hand. Another flick of the wrist, and the rectangular piece of Bakelite was flying through the air.

Like a shuriken.

Unlike that metal tool, however, this one just sent the unlucky boy into unconsciousness when it impacted the back of his neck, rather than separating his head from his body and trimming that luxurious blue hair.

Ruby hopped down off the table and picked her way over to where Cardin was still trying to heave his way off the floor, avoiding stepping in the piles of spilled food scattered all over. When she reached him, she squatted down low and looked him in his face contorted with rage.

"You… bitch."

"Language."

She could feel his jaw crunch even through her boots.

"Ruby…" The girl brushed herself off and walked tentatively over to her friend.

"Are you alright, Vel?" The woman could only nod yes or no, and so she bobbed her head in the affirmative. "Good. I'm glad." A genuine smile creeped its way onto her face.

"But- you shouldn't have done that!" Suddenly the Faunus woman's sense of priorities kicked in, and she found herself fearful of the consequences for her friend.

"No." Ruby shook her head. "I should have done that a long time ago."

These were just some of the bullies in the world. There were others too- more insidious and disguised as people trying to help. But in they end, they just wanted everyone to see things their way. And she had let herself be coerced into seeing things through what they called rose-colored glasses. But the truth was that they were merely blinders.

"Thank you, Velvet."

The older woman had no idea how to respond to her friend thanking her. Nor did Ruby know entirely what she was thanking her for. For making her regain that confidence and drive to protect what she had, certainly. But also for being her friend through thick and thin, despite all the baggage which came with that.

For finally making her realize that she had those kinds of friends Naruto surrounded himself with. She'd had them, all along.

"Ruby Rose!"

She glanced over her shoulder with a sense of resignation tugging down her smile, being scolded like a child with her hand in the cookie jar. There was no chance of wiping her boot-print off of Cardin's face, now.

"Just what in the name of Remnant do you think you are doing?!"

There was no good answer for that rhetorical question, so she just shrugged.

Meanwhile Glynda fumed.

"You're coming with me." She said at last, snatching Ruby by her wrist and tugging her away forcefully.

"No-wait!" Velvet lunged out to capture Ruby's other hand and held onto it like a drowning woman.

"It's okay, Vel." Ruby assured her companion with a self-assured smile, ignoring the reprimands and threats from the deputy headmistress trying to rip her away. She squeezed the Faunus's hand before letting go.

"Don't worry. I got this."

* * *

She sat across from the headmaster with arms folded like a petulant child, but with an expression and posture that said otherwise. Ozpin was in a rare mood, never before had she seen him with anything but a sly smile painted on his face, subtle variations up or down depending on the subject. The horizontal line drawn across his lips was a bit disconcerting, however Ruby was too much upset _with_ the man to be upset _by_ him _._

"You're not making things easy for me, Ruby."

Where before she might have winced at this disapproval, now she just shook her head.

"Things were never going to be easy. You knew that."

In a turn of events, it was Ozpin who subtly baulked as he steepled his fingers on the desk in front of him and heaved out a weary sigh.

"I chose to reveal my objectives to you because I thought that you were mature enough to understand the severity of the situation this world finds itself in. Your actions just now say otherwise. Tell me: was I misguided in my decision to involve you in this?"

Before she would have said yes. An irrefutable yes, and unleashed her pent-up animosity for having this burdensome knowledge unenviably thrust upon her. But now?

"You didn't tell me that stuff because you thought I was mature." Ruby chose to answer a different question than the one which had been asked. The one she felt deserved an answer. "Not because I was smart, or capable, either. If that were the case, you would have left me to rot in that awful place." She uncrossed her arms and gripped the chair firmly, leaning forward over the expansive desk between them.

"You saw something in me that convinced you I was a good person. And throughout those months of trials you kept that faith in me, even when I thought I lost it." Her eyes shifted from recrimination to earnest. "But something that fundamental can't be taken away or destroyed, not by force. It can only be given up. I stepped in today because I finally realized that I haven't given up, that I still want to be that person I was before and change the world for the better. So why don't **you** tell me where you stand? Are you just going to let this kind of thing happen under your nose?"

Ozpin was silent for a long while, not a hum escaped the man's stony persona and even the unstoppable clockwork grinding against itself above them seemed to halt in its procession.

Ruby might have been waiting for the man to say something, but it no longer mattered because she already had her answer.

* * *

" **There** you are!"

Her sister was the only one with words upon her return from the headmaster's office. Their partners both perked up but had no idea what to say against what they had witnessed in the lunch room.

"I'm back." Ruby stated with a twinge of fatigue.

"What did Ozpin say? Are you in trouble? That was inexcusable what they were doing to Velvet, I swear that if he expelled you I'm going to-"

"We just talked." Ruby didn't even bother hanging up her cloak as she crawled into her bunk. "That's it."

"That's it?" Weiss said incredulously, her first words in the conversation as she poked her head upstairs.

"Yes." Her leader snapped, indicating clear as day that she was done entertaining questions.

Sadly, for Yang, her perceived duties did not allow her to give up so easily.

"Are you alright, Ruby?" She repeated the question of the day at the back of her sister curled up in a fetal position on her mattress. "Come on, It's me, your Sis. You know you can always tell me what's on your mind. If you're not expelled, it can't be that bad. We'll get through this, I swear."

The crimson lump stopped moving immediately afterwards, not even the gentle rise and fall of breathing disturbed the folded sheets. This unaccustomed action caused all color to drain from the blonde's face as she reached out to prod her sister.

"And what if I can't?"

Her hand froze before it even got halfway there as an unnaturally icy voice emanated from the bundle and bounced off the wall.

"Of cour-"

"No!" Everyone in the room leapt reflexively as the young woman whipped around and sat up in bed quick as a lick. "No, Yang! You're just going to have to accept that there are things I **can't** talk to you about. Bad things. Difficult things. Things that I just can't **trust** you with anymore!"

Yang had backed away as if each word was a blow rained down upon her. Dazed and frazzled even as her partner slid from the bunk above and braced her hand against her shoulder.

"Ruby…"

"I'm sorry…"

It was just a whisper but they all heard it in the accompanying silence. Before anyone could process what just happened though, there was further action which outstripped their comprehension. Thus, they were struck dumb as Ruby disappeared into a swirl of rose petals and flowed out the window which opened up before her. Cries of her name trailing after her out into the cold night.

* * *

"What a day…" Ruby heaved a sigh as she lay back against the tree trunk, legs outstretched in front of her on the sturdy branch.

Never did she think she would willingly be alone. But then, she was never alone… was she? Before it had been a sure thing, when had it been reduced to a possibility?

She hadn't meant to blow up like that, but all her composure had been reserved for the talk with Ozpin. None would be left by the time she stumbled back into the dorm several hours later. It was not as if the words she said to her sister were merely spiteful, though. There had been truth in there, else she wouldn't have said them. Misgivings kept penned up in her subconscious until they demanded release.

The words had been far harsher than intended. It could be argued that it was just due to the stressful situation, but she had been snapping a lot lately and wasn't liking the person she was turning into.

That's why she had to put her foot down. To establish exactly who Ruby Rose was.

Which would be why she had to apologize. To her sister first and foremost. And to Jaune, who had the simple misfortune to look the way he did, and for her to react to his biology. She owed him at least that much.

She hoped that her actions hadn't alienated team JNPR. Though it was perhaps too much to ask that her outburst hadn't put a wedge in her own team. She knew Weiss's private thoughts about her, and couldn't find fault with her logic. She was weird, and would simply have to accept that.

The morning's light would reveal the fallout. For now, she was ever so tired.

Settling a bit more into the hard and rough nook and tucking the wool cloak further around her body, she allowed a brief smile to be entertained on her lips. This wasn't the first time she herself had spent a night alone in the woods, though it had been a very, very long time since the last. Would Naruto be proud of her, or disappointed? She felt more than hoped that he would be. For better or worse, she had stood up for herself at long last.

Unfurling the burrito-wrapped cloth around her, she fished around in her neckline for an object which she always kept tucked away on a bit of string. Pulling it out, she stared at it in the patchy moonlight, angular surfaces glinting like a gemstone. And despite the cold, the metal was warm from being so close to her breast.

She hadn't given the totem much thought lately, like she hadn't acknowledged the boy in her dreams. But both had always been with her throughout that awful period in her life. Even when looking away, they were there.

Even while ignoring it, she never let the memento go far from her person. She had kept the object with her and carefully hidden it from the nurses and hospital staff invading her room and searching with a fine-toothed scrutiny. They would have had a conniption if they ever discovered the miniature blade.

She chuckled at the thought. For even though it was just supposed to be a letter-opener, there was no doubt she could do some serious damage with the half-sized kunai. Her sister had given it to her on her tenth birthday when she expressed her desire to become a 'ninja'. Would Yang even remember that time? Would she ever understand?

Her nostalgic smile wavered thinking about her sister. The words spoken in anger were not false, but it still was not fair. She kept it all a secret until it was forcefully exposed in a moment of weakness. But even if she had come clean, could anyone believe such a story?

No, they would adhere to the bottom-line, the explanation as written by the doctors and lawyers who condemned her. Anyone reasonable would. Why should Yang be any different? What had she been told anyway, and what difference was there in the myriad variations of the 'truth'?

Was she crazy? Or was she the only sane one on their broken planet?

There was no point in questions now, and no point in regrets. Someday she would have to come clean to her team as she did now to herself. Starting by rejecting the mantra they had told her in the clinic, in which she had merely dreamed up that other life to cope with the death of her mother. Naruto was his own person, as was she, and neither of them deserved to be written off as a loss.

This was her truth. The only one that mattered.

A chilling wind made her shiver and consider curling back up again. But before she gave in to the inviting warmth of her cloak, she snapped the twine around her neck and held the miniature kunai between thumb and index finger at arm's length. Here was a much better surface to carve a message than her body.

But what to write? Nothing seemed adequate for the years without conversation, nothing came to mind in any language as she stared at the flat patch of bark in front of her.

Another gust blew some of the fallen leaves into the air, tumbling them in an invisible whirlpool far above the ground.

She smiled, and began etching.

When finished, she curled up again with the cloak wrapped tight around her, leaning on the invented character she had drawn. The new language universal to them would have her back as she slept.

The flowering spiral resting just above her heart.

* * *

Spirals…dizzying…falling. Multitudes of symbols and characters caught up in an endless gyre which spanned throughout space and time. Ink spilling forth in spindly tendrils caught up in airstreams only to be scattered and returned again further on down the line. Nonsensical words and irrational numbers all mashed into one at the bottom of the nexus like it was a giant food-processor.

And he was right there too, along for the ride.

"Naruto?"

"Buwah!"

Stacks of paper filled with half-finished seals and scribbled notes filling the margins flew every which way around him as he lurched out of slumber. The rustling of paper like the wind over the barely accompanied by several loud bangs as his legs skipped up to hit the low table, knocking the inkpot into the air as well and straight into his forehead.

*Thump!*

*Donk*

"Itaiiii…."

Staring up at his blank mottled stucco ceiling as the scattered pages rained down on him like snow. Except that the wrinkled leaves wouldn't sooth his now burning forehead or quell his racing heart.

"Are you okay?"

That expression as earnest as the earth itself greeting the losers of gravity. Earthliness itself now loomed over him with wide, inviting eyes.

"M'fine."

He should have probably been used to rude awakenings by now, but with the schedule he'd been keeping as of late it was always a mystery as to what would be the culprit each time.

Or in this case, whom.

"What'cha doing here, Tenten?"

He addressed the foreign presence in his apartment, slowly sitting up as he rubbed his forehead, wondering absently where his headband had wandered off to. The young woman who had evidently let herself in now made herself at home and wandered over to the tiny refrigerator, swiping the cleanish dishrag from the countertop and bundling a few clinking ice cubes in it before handing it back to the owner.

"Here."

"Thanks." He took it and held it up to his pounding forehead. Regardless of his advanced healing, the cool contact offered instantaneous relief which he extended over a few moments before speaking up again. "So what's up? Why'd you drop by?"

He reworded and enunciated his mumbled greeting as his teammate navigated the compact living/bedroom which now looked like a hurricane had just passed through. She tiptoed gracefully around his pages, swiping a stack of them up in her hands as she plopped herself down on his bed.

"Well, that's what we're all wondering. You've been cooped up in here for like three days now."

Naruto grimaced as he attempted to use the rag in his hand, now moist from the melted ice to wipe up the toppled container of ink. Swearing as he just smeared it around the floor into one big Rorschach, trying to save a few of his better drawings here and there by tossing them back on the table.

He really didn't care too much for the ancient carpet or the majority of his failed attempts and notes, but it was a good excuse to hide the shock from finding out just how long he'd been at this. Without a doubt he had been counting the days which passed, but it just didn't register until stated by someone else. He was always partially disconnected from the world anyway.

Tenten eyed him with boredom over the pages but did not get up to lend a hand. Maybe she was adopting more of a 'sink or swim' attitude now that he was learning about seals without her help. And she was far more interested to see how he had progressed.

As she flipped through the pages, her forehead furrowed in consternation.

"These are pretty advanced."

She said with more awe than jealousy. She certainly wasn't upset that her teammate was getting trained by one of the most elite ninja to ever come out of Konoha. What a ridiculous suggestion! Of course, she _might_ have been tempted if she had truly been dedicated to the sealing arts instead of just using them to augment her weapons.

Nope! Not jealous at all.

"Nah, those are still basic." Naruto dismissed as he returned from wringing the ruined rag in the sink and wetting it again. "They're just not encountered all that often. Learning them helps to learn the more complicated ones, though."

The majority of seals on those sheets were more esoteric time-savers than things which could actually be used in combat. He had no use in practicing the storage seals or explosive ones any more. As much as he'd like to dabble in the latter, his time was best spent down other avenues as none of the lessons would carry over to his current goal.

Besides, what Tenten didn't know was that he was way past any of that with his library of knowledge, and simply needed to refine his layouts and penmanship a little more. What she was seeing as complex was in fact the order and linkages between the individual seals which extended off the paper and continued on another page.

When she'd startled him, he'd reflexively messed up the collage pasted on his table before he went to sleep. Yet another layer of defense to keep unwanted scrutiny off his writings, no matter what they happened to contain.

He had learned the lesson from Ruby's hardship, and so wouldn't stoop to call it paranoia.

"Impressive nonetheless."

"Thanks." He said with a slight tinge in his cheeks, sighing as he gave up on the permanent mark on his floor, settling instead to gather up the rest of his 'practice' and shelve it in piles to be picked through later.

The last stack were the ones in Tenten's hands as she looked over them intently. His blush only deepened as he called her name and she didn't respond. He had been satisfied with his progress so far, but to receive such unsolicited praise was a little unbalancing and he found himself acting the same way Ruby might.

When the polaroid photograph slipped out from amongst the reams though, his face was caught in between atomic red and ghostly white. He lunged to grab it before it hit the floor, but another hand snapped it even as he was sliding into home on his knees. He looked up with aghast to see the woman's inquisitive face and head cocked curiously to the side.

"What's this?"

"Nothing!" Damn, even Ruby managed to say something less foolish.

But Tenten still did not appear to have heard him as she stared at the photograph for an excruciatingly long time, as if somehow she could not decipher what it depicted.

"A girl?" She sounded unsure for a moment before her mouth spread into a wide grin to rival his best. "You have a picture of a girl?!"

"Tenten…" He began in a desperate, half-crazed voice, stalking forward with hands extended. "Please give that back."

Tenten had always been easy to deal with. Always had a kind or supportive word, and he had gotten along with her from day one. Hell- he was sure _Ruby_ would get along with her if they were to somehow meet. She had always been the voice of reason on the team, intervening before he and Neji came to blows back when that was an issue, and even stepping in a few times when it became a danger with Sasuke.

Now those duties were done. In retrospect, he should have expected that she'd finally want to cut loose.

Her grin turned wicked and a malevolent shadow passed over the room.

"Make me."

He would. But only after a long struggle which took up most of the morning and would add yet more damage to his repairs and entropy to the universe at large. After all that, he would have to partially sacrifice the image in order to deny it from the suddenly mischievous woman.

Afterward, Tenten once again collapsed on his bed as the only soft spot to do so and lost herself to laughter.

"I'm glad _someone's_ having a good time." He said sarcastically as he tucked the ruined photo into a hidden pocket in his jacket where he'd _thought_ it had been before.

"I did." The kunochi admitted as she crawled over to the window and heaved it open on its sticky and creaking hinges, letting fresh air into the apartment which was once stuffy now reeking heavily of ink, sweat and dust. "I haven't had that kind of stupid fun in ages."

"I'm glad." Naruto repeated with more sincerity, somewhat limping over to his stove to put a kettle on for the morning's necessities.

And he was. She had been right- despite the potentially incriminating photograph of the Two-Tails Jinchῡriki being exposed, it did not appear as if any real damage had been done. Contrarily, perhaps a little good had. Who cared if Tenten thought he was smitten? Humiliation was the least of his worries, and as long as she hadn't noticed the few informational lines on the back, he was safe.

"So, was that Ruby?"

The Styrofoam cup didn't make much of a sound at all as it hit the floor, totally overtaken by the thumping of his heart which was trying to escape through his throat. Trying to recover from the slip was difficult, and perversely he found himself wishing it had been the boiling kettle he'd dropped on his foot- it would have created a bigger distraction at least.

"W-who?" Still he stuttered and was only able to force the word out after wetting his lips.

He reminded himself there was no way she could know about her, concocting any number of reasons instead that name had been on her lips. Was there anyone in Konoha with that name? He didn't think so. Even if names tended to criss-cross in his mind all too often, neither he nor she had ever encountered another Red-themed girl in their lifetimes.

"Ruby." Tenten unflinchingly repeated herself, either purposefully overlooking his discomfort or totally ignorant of it. "Is that the girl's name?"

Was she being serious? Honestly wasn't aware of what that name meant to him, and all the lovely and horrifying baggage that went with it? How could she get the name and not the story? The mere fact that she could confuse Yugito Nii with the otherworldly being should have reassured him.

"Um… no?"

Glad she couldn't see his hollow face as he was turned away from her and pouring the hot water into the tea pot to steep. Simultaneously trying to keep his voice and hands from shaking, the latter threatening his hands with boiling liquid.

"Oh." She uttered the single syllable with the disappointment of having guessed wrong, and Naruto heaved a sigh of relief, suddenly exhausted even though he had just woken up. Hopefully a little Ramen would cure that. "Then who is the girl in the picture?"

"Not telling." Naruto gave her a squinting smile as he shuffled over to the table with the pot and two tea cups. He was perfectly happy to play this game as long as it didn't deal with his most significant _other_.

"Spoilsport." Tenten stuck her tongue out at him- so much like Ruby that it almost made him drop the tea set. "So is it someone I know? Someone you met on a mission?"

"No, and no."

He chuckled at the sulking look she was giving him but ignored it in favor of transferring the two cups of noodles already soaking from the counter to the table. She sat down adjacent from him and they both tucked in with a reassuring familiarity after uttering a small prayer each. No more questions would interrupt their sacred meal.

Tenten had been right. They hadn't done something like this in a while, and it felt nice.

Though it was over all too soon, and when they both settled back into their chairs after pouring two cups of the dark, steaming black tea, the table was open for business talk. Including why she had come over to his apartment in the first place. It would be par for the course if Baa-chan was angry at him, or in the case of a mission he wouldn't be surprised.

But he was, because instead of discussing matters of relative importance, she picked right back up on the path they had left off.

"So then… who is Ruby anyway?"

She dutifully slapped him on the back as the bitter tea went down the wrong pipe and he devolved into a coughing fit. But when he finally recovered, it was all too clear that she wasn't going to accept another distraction. Her eyes were two slabs of raw earth crushing him, heat and pressure trying to mold his words into an answer she approved of.

"You say the name as you sleep. A bunch of other stuff that doesn't make sense too, but that's the one word you can spot."

That was an interesting tidbit- would be if the situation weren't so dire.

"You've been doing it more often lately, we had Neji check up on you when you weren't showing up to the training grounds. It's obvious she's got something to do with what's on your mind. So what is it? Can you tell me?"

Ruby had never been given a chance to lie, her silence only broken like a wooden plank over the knee. Technically neither of them had lied to their friends and acquaintances, only omitted that very hard to swallow fact about themselves.

Could he do so now? He had never lied to any of his comrades before- even about the demon sealed inside of him. He had relieved himself of that burden when confronted after the Chῡnin exams, overwhelmed by all the other events unfolding both here and his alternative life.

Should he lie now? What was the worst that could happen?

That was a rhetorical question. He had seen what could happen, and it would only be worse because he was sure there would be no one coming to bail him out of the funny farm. His life as a ninja would be finished for sure. And what of the people who depended on him, both in this world and the other? Ruby had only just recovered from her own incarceration, he didn't want to fathom what a repeat could do to her.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you it was just a nickname I give the Fox, would you?"

She shook her head sympathetically, but resoundingly no.

"Didn't think so…"

She waited, innocent curiosity waiting for an innocent answer. He might have even guessed what was going through her head right then, thinking there was no way he could have another secret to top the Kyῡbi.

There still existed the slim chance that he could get out of this. He could weave a convoluted tale that was so incredibly ridiculous that it would have to be believed- one as unbelievable as the one he was trying to cover up.

He could string things out for a bit longer anyway, placate her with just enough juicy gossip that she'd hound him for more, but wouldn't dig too deep. Thought he'd have to trust her not to become more curious, and that left too much open to possibility.

He sighed, once again overwhelmed.

"Before I answer that, I need to tell you a story."

He looked at her warily cocked eyebrow with a sad smile, wondering if this had been the same expression on their face back then.

"Do you believe in unicorns, Tenten?"

In the end, weren't they always putting their lives in hands of others?

* * *

 **So for those wondering about the timeline… yes. I'm being fast and loose with it, but at the same time you can more or less correspond the incidents with canon, everything's just been accelerated slightly. Except for the relationship between teams JNPR and RWBY, as you've seen it's been slightly retarded. That's because I figure one of the chief motivators for the team interactions would be Ruby's bubbly personality, and that's obviously been curbed slightly. This will be rectified, though, because what would we do without all that lovely tragedy which is associated with the martyrs of JNPR?**

 **And for those wondering why it sounds like I took a double-dose of my meds during the Cardin-Ruby confrontation, it's because I wove in bits of Schrodinger's Cat in there. If you've never heard of it, it's a famous thought-experiment (Hmm… I wonder if that has something to do with the chapter title?), not something that literally happens. I could describe it here, but… nah. It's Quantum Physics mind-numbing stuff and you're here for mental candyfloss (to some extent). So enjoy this for now, and if you're curious you can look it up.**


	19. Stream of Consciousness

**So, sorry again for being late. But at least you can be happy to know it was because I was working on chapter 22. Or don't. See what I care.**

 **'Fore we begin, just wanted to ask, is anyone else having issues with viewing the special characters? When I write the Japanese words like 'Jinchuuriki' or 'Hyuuga', I don't typically write them like this, but rather with the line over the u making an extension. On my PC it's fine, but on my tablet it's just a blank box. One reader said it doesn't show up for him at all, which is REALLY strange. Anyway, if you do have a problem, it would be good to know the details of what system and browser you're using. Thanks!**

 **Oh, and I'm considering changing the rating to M. Yea nay, what say you all? + for yes, - nor no, anywhere in a review.**

* * *

His tale would end on a soft note, so much different to the start so full of fearful and ecstatic energy. It was only natural that he should be scared when taking a leap of faith such as this. But in the same breath, hadn't he perhaps always wanted someone else to know? Needed to have that second voice- if not a second opinion, simply listening and not judging.

One would inevitably come with the other, though.

"This isn't some kind of prank, is it?"

He shook his head dismally. That was the reaction he was hoping he wouldn't get. Rejection he was prepared for, but ridicule was a different kind of horror. He hadn't been known for pulling pranks after a certain age, but only because he avoided getting caught. Things might have been worse otherwise, though how much credibility had already been sacrificed?

"Oh. I see."

The answer had been expected, and thus she didn't dwell on it. Instead delving back into solitary contemplation.

He sighed in both relief and exasperation, desperately wanting to get up out of the chair and do something- anything to distract himself from having to wait. Sorting his notes, washing the dishes, a mundane task which would help reestablish a sense of normalcy.

But wasn't _this_ truly normal? For him, not having to cover up the truth would be in his most natural state. Telling her of this now was like ripping off his clothes and going bare as the day he was born, with all the freedom and vulnerability that went with it. For this _was_ the way he was born, as near as he could remember. Why should he be ashamed of who he was?

Because his entire life now hung on an other's opinion. It wasn't even as bad finding out about the Tailed Beast sealed inside of him. That at least there was proof of, or so he was told. He'd had conversations with both the Kyῡbi and Ruby, so it was more a matter of which people decided to accept. He was now entirely at the mercy of those same people, something even more fickle than the fate he outright rejected.

"You must know how insane this sounds, right?"

"No." He shook his head in denial, or perhaps disappointment. "This has been the way my life is for as long as I can remember. I can't imagine anything else, so to me _you_ might as well be the abnormal one with dreams that ramble on and on about nothing, focusing solely on _your_ life and not the way it's connected to everything else."

Tenten furrowed her brow, probably annoyed with having her sanity called in to question. He resisted the feeling of discomfiture under her flat gaze, knowing how silly he probably sounded.

"Naruto, everyone else has normal dreams which don't make sense. What's normal is to _not_ have a second person living inside your head."

He resisted the urge to obstinately say something like 'As far as **you** know', and instead settled on a weak resistance.

"She's not living inside my head, just… observing. We live our own lives in our own worlds, but there's no ignoring the other. Seeing her life, the things in it I could never imagine on my own… there's no doubt she's a living person like you, or me. If anything, it's easier to imagine that I'm just her dream." The last bit directed at the empty tea cup where the dregs had settled to the bottom in a brownish muck.

It was impossible to miss the frailty in Naruto's voice which made Tenten loose her own defensive posture. She sighed heavily.

"Have you tried getting help? You know, like talking to a professional?"

"You're the first person I've told." His eyes flicked up at her to see her flinch at the passive accusation. "Besides, this isn't something that's happened recently. Whether you believe me or not, this is my normal. Ruby's helped me so much with everything in my life that I never needed to go see someone. For the longest time I never even knew that something was ' _wrong'_." He halfheartedly raised quotation marks around the word, illustrating how he felt about using it.

Tenten looked like she was about to say something else, but quickly snapped her jaw shut and rolled her tongue over inside her mouth like the idea in her head. She was thinking about his words, and that was a start.

He could see the trouble she was having in formulating a decision, and for some reason that gave him hope that he might be able to sway her. He branched out his thoughts looking for something- anything to offer the slightest shred of evidence.

"Just a sec."

He stood unhurriedly to not spook her in her distraction, also because he wasn't confident on how good an idea this was. But in for a penny, in for a pound. Although that expression still didn't make sense to him. Walking over to his book shelf which held more knickknacks and ninja gear that books, he crouched down to the shelves that were occupied and withdrew a single, worn notebook with a cover that was once plain brown now covered by childish drawings in only one or two salvaged colors.

"Here." He handed it to her with both hands, as if he were offering her a sacred manual. "I wrote this when I was nine."

She took the dogeared stack of parchment from him with almost as much care after seeing how fragilely it was bound together. She also spent a long time looking at the cartoonish drawings on the cover before so much as cracking the spine, finger tracing the vibrant crayon lines like it was comprised of ancient runes.

"That's her." He offered with a lopsided smile, remembering just how poor his artistic skills were, and how they had yet to improve.

No response was offered to this, though Tenten's brow furrowed some more as if deciding if he would be capable of fabricating such an intricate story. All doubt would be removed once she glanced at the first page, though.

"What… is this?"

"That's English." He said with a slight accent, more used to writing it than speaking it. "And Roman characters. Ruby and I can't actually know what the other is thinking, but we can see and feel everything so writing to each other was easiest, rather than talking out loud like some nut." Ignoring the irony in this. "I just decided to use her language because I still had trouble with writing and she had people to teach her. At first my handwriting was worse than hers, but it gets better later on."

She turned her focus unto him when he started speaking in a different language, suddenly recognizing some of the guttural tones from the times she heard him mumble in his sleep during missions.

"What did you say?" He repeated the sentences in Japanese, only to see her shake her head and delve back into the pages, hoping to find some answers there. Brown eyes scanned the pages with the same intensity as decrypting an enemy code.

He tried to read her expression through the silence that followed, but soon gave up and walked over to his bed to lay down and wait. The conversation was exhausting him, but just closing his eyes would bring him no closer to rest.

"Naruto?"

The voice woke him from his non-sleep. His answer was to sit up and watch her as she shut his precious journal softly and lay a single hand on its back cover, trying to absorb it all. Blinking slowly at her, he awaited the verdict.

It would be another agonizing while as she tried and failed a couple more times to begin her sentence. Still, he was not deterred, and continued to wait on pins and needles.

"I…" He held his breath, "You…" Resisted the urge to sigh as she still seemed too confuddled to give him a straight yes or no. He wouldn't be opposed to letting her go home to think about it all some more, except that she might spread misconceptions if all her questions were not reassured here and now. He trusted her implicitly, but not himself to make the correct decision.

"If you had to describe… what kind of person is she?"

Though not prepared for that drastic turn, it was something that he could in fact answer.

"Honest," Straight-faced as if delivering a report. "Brave. Caring. Talented. Fast." The smile on his face broadened as he relaxed into the words. "A little goofy." A lone chuckle. "Not to mention a little unsure around new people. But above all, a fighter. One who has been through a lot, but doesn't give up."

"Kinda like you?"

The statement was left at that, not meant to be a compliment and so he didn't take it as such. He pursed his lips and shook his head.

"Yeah. But also not." He could see where her thoughts were going, but one could not be used as an analog for the other. "Ruby's a different person, Tenten. She's also shy, has some issues about self-confidence. She really likes weapons and has an unhealthy obsession for sugar." He could tell with her raised eyebrow that she was about to compare their food addictions, and so pressed on with almost desperate fervor.

"Her favorite color's red, not orange. She likes puppies and romantic comedies, fresh clothes which come just out of the dryer and the sounds of owls hooting at night. She doesn't care about the three minutes it takes to cook ramen, but hates having to share a bathroom. She's always careful about tossing old milk out of the fridge or finishing it before it goes bad. Her grades have always been good and she's the one who taught me how to use the scythe- well actually, we learned that from her uncle."

He took a pause, realizing he was just spouting disconnected thoughts which had no purpose but to occupy space. "She worries a lot about growing up, now more than ever and I know it's my fault. I try to help her where I can, teach her things to stay alive. I worry all the time because she's the kindest person you'll ever meet and is able to pick out the silver lining in everything.

"But she has her own worries, too. Her world has literal monsters which pray on fear itself. That's just something they live with. Otherwise, she stays up at night trying to figure out ways to make her team work out. She used to wonder if she'd be as pretty as her sister who's tall and beautiful and has confidence in everything she does. Though what she still really wants more than anything is to grow up to be like her mom. She still misses her every day but soldiers on because she's just the type of person who can see the joy hiding in the darkest corners.

"That's why I try so hard- not only to make my own life into something I can be happy with, but to make the world more like the one she knows is possible."

The finish line was within sight and he was breathing heavily. Listing the superficial differences was like crawling over tacks on his hands and knees, divulging her private details was like the whip on his back. It may have been necessary, but he'd never forgive himself for it. Above it all, that wall loomed large and imposing in front of the solace which lay at the end.

"… She's also got a sister and a dad, and an Uncle to support her. So she doesn't really need me." That was a rueful admission, though after all this how could he deny that he was anything but a burden to her? She had given him his first real friend, imparted her knowledge and her pleasures, shared her family and herself with him. It was obvious who got the better deal.

"I see." She couldn't. Empathy could only take you so far with something so abstract.

Tenten stood up, and for a moment looked as though she were going to walk straight out then and there, probably to go tell the Hōkage to take him off of the active duty roster and check him into an insane asylum.

But then she walked over to his bed and sat down next to him, placing a firm but gentle hand on his shoulder.

"I don't believe you." The shame and heartbreak were too much for him, and he refused to meet that condemnation head on. "I think that she needs you, just as much as you do her."

He didn't question it, could barely comprehend it. These were the words that he had longed to hear for years. Yet here they were, and he had no idea how to feel about it other than crass overwhelming emotion.

Tears were shed for himself, for the first time. But no more so than was necessary. He would be the pillar to lift the both of them into the light, because that was just who he was, what made him a separate person from her and what made them something whole. One to keep looking, and the other to remind them that it was still there to be found.

So as he looked back up to find Tenten's arms around him, he dried his tears on his sleeve and bundled up all the sensitivities he had let loose, gathering up the pieces of his life so that he could move on.

"You can cry, if you want to."

He shook his head. Not that he couldn't, and not that the gesture wasn't appreciated, but he'd done what he needed to.

"She's had enough sadness in her life. And so have I." Tenten nodded at his words, and he could tell she understood enough.

"She can… see us right now, can't she?"

"Mm-hm." His answer was modest but delivered without a doubt, something he'd been unable to do for too long a time.

The wordless message she sent had been clear. What goes around comes around, stronger than before.

"So…"

He could only guess what things might look like from an outsider. There were a million questions that were probably on her mind. How did their bond actually work? What was their relationship if it could even be described? Hadn't he seen her and her sister naked since they were little kids, and did that mean that she got the same view? How had that affected his sense of self and his feelings to the opposite gender?

"What does she think of me?"

He laughed.

"She thinks you're pretty awesome, Tenten. Between you and me, you're her favorite."

"I think I'm going to like her."

"I know you will."

* * *

"So, is she the reason you started learning seals?"

His hand would pause over yet another of the scattered kunai which was glinting in the early afternoon sun. The hours which passed would find them at their usual haunt, a training ground not far off into the many scattered patches of woods dotted inside the village walls. The cathartic and visceral act of training smoothing over the rough conversation still filled with many gaps and potholes.

"Maybe." He plucked the blade out of the earth and wiped it on his trousers before adding it to the growing pile in his pouch. "I guess it mostly was. But then I realized that the Fourth's Jutsu was also seal-based, and I got kind of side-tracked."

There was always something trying to split his attention between her world and his. He still lusted after that unbeatable speed, even though there were many other aspects of the ninja arts that he knew he should probably focus on.

"You're learning the Hiraishin?" Leaves rustled as she poked her head out to look at him with even more shock than she had shown earlier.

"Yeah." He replied hesitantly as he jiggled another three knives out of a tree. "Ero-Senin was the sensei to the Fourth, so he had some good pointers as to where to start." Specifically, he had asked Jiraya if the man knew any technique akin to teleportation, guising it with the pretense of improving his Body-Flicker. It just so happened that it worked on both fronts. Because in the end, wasn't the bridge between worlds merely a distance to be crossed?

"You really shouldn't refer to Jiraya-sama like that." Hopping down from the tree, she held out her hand in which he deposited the weapons he had collected thus far.

"He's the one who insists on being called a Super-Pervert."

Tenten conceded the point with a shrug, having actually long-since stopped the debate, and was bringing up the matter merely for old-times' sake.

"I think that's the last of them."

After going through this exercise, one might say too many times, he had learned just how many weapons the girl had on her at any given moment. Learning to count the number thrown at him as an additional form of awareness training.

His paltry number of thrown weapons were all accounted for, the non-descript kunai and shuriken marked with a barely-visible, hand-scribed rose stamp currently resting comfortably in their holster.

"Hmm, I think you forgot one."

Her back was turned when he looked over so that he couldn't tell if she was teasing him. Her tone suggested there was something ulterior, but without reading her face he couldn't tell what.

"Here. I think this one's yours too."

It was impossible that he had miscounted, but his hand made its way to his thigh just to be sure. It would hover there, his mechanics whirring fruitlessly as he tried to process what was being handed over to him. She must have been teasing him.

"That's one of the Fourth's kunai." The only part of him which worked was his mouth, during which he stared at it unmoving, as if the trident points facing away from him would leap out and bite.

"Mm. Like I said, I think this belongs to you." Blade pinched between thumb and forefinger, she pressed the handle further at him.

"How-No. Tenten, I can't. This must have cost you a fortune."

Her shrug denied nothing, but with the lopsided smile it was obvious she didn't care. Which was to say that she must have really cared, because there was almost nothing as legendary as Tenten's miserliness when it came to her weapons, likened only to his own Ramen addiction and the Hōkage's gambling vice.

"A weapon's made to be used. I'd rather see it in the battlefield than gathering dust on my shelf." There were plenty of others in her collection to take its place, of that there was no doubt. "I can tell you are far beyond me when it comes to seals, and you should have no problem reverse-engineering it now."

It was true that Jiraya's advice had been vague and often misleading when it came to this subject, he had initially assumed it was done to get him to think his way around the problem. While normally that would be a reasonable path to learning, at the present he felt irrevocably pressed for time and would take the shortcut if he could get it.

Even still…

"Are you sure? I could just copy it out and give it back to you afterwards."

While this was a true enough statement, it was apparently not satisfactory as she rolled her eyes and forcibly yanked his arm forward and pressed the handle into his palm.

"If you want me to believe you're not like Ruby, quit doubting yourself and just take it."

"Actually, if she were here, I think you'd have to keep her away from your collection with a stick."

"I'll take your word for it." Imagining that it might not be so bad to have a kindred spirit, Tenten realized that her goading might have been taken the wrong way. "I don't mean that stopping to think before accepting something is necessarily a bad thing." Waving her hands to erase the idea. "She ought to know by now that you of all people could learn a lesson in common sense. You tell her that, won't you? Tell her that I wouldn't mind sharing my weapons with someone who'd appreciate them."

"You just told her," He said distractedly as he cradled the tri-pronged weapon in both hands.

"Yeah, I just meant when you see her."

That simple offhand remark was enough to draw his attention away from the priceless object in his hands. Not only the simple ease with which his teammate had accepted this crucial facet to his existence, but the sheer faith with which she structured the sentence, using 'when' and not 'if'.

"You really have such confidence that I can do it?"

Another shrug which meant the same thing.

"Honestly, it's harder not to. I'd be too much of a hassle to explain things if you were any less convincing."

Eccentricities bordering on insanity were common coping mechanisms among most veteran shinobi. Maybe her faith in him was her own grasp at a constantly moving target called normalcy. It was a ludicrous situation to accept, but by the same token if she didn't, it would negate all the good Naruto had done for everyone that she knew, including herself. That would be a different, and unbearable kind of madness.

"Besides, with two heads working on it, I have no doubt one of you will figure out something. And Ruby's a girl, therefore it's doubtless she has more of a head on her shoulders than you do."

"Probably right about that." He reflexively pocketed the infamous kunai as he felt someone approach, though only afterwards realized it was pointless. "What's up, Neji?"

They had been working together as a team for so long that it did not surprise the elder teen that he was spotted well before he descended from the branches. He might have possessed the all-seeing eyes, but his teammates were not unobservant by their own right.

"So, the recluse decides to show himself at long last." He trod a few steps forward before sketching a small bow. "To what do we owe the honor, Master Uzumaki?"

Naruto could tell the boy was mocking him, specifically because he _couldn't_ detect a lick of sarcasm in the deliverance. Despite being a Jōnin, the elder Hyῡga had been deferring to him for some time now, ever since the overwhelming defeat during the Chῡnin exams where he ordered him to lighten up. Neji's way of easing into it was passively aggressive, forcing Naruto to eventually accept this royal treatment as a joke rather than force the boy to change his manners.

Still, the blunt smirk when he retracted from the bow was a welcome sight.

"I asked first. How're you doing?"

"I am well, oh _Great Sage_. I do hope you enjoyed yourself and had a fruitful time off. I am unsure how much more you will get, it seems the Hōkage is requesting your presence as soon as possible."

The non-existent lilt of joviality petered off halfway through, and if possible Neji's demeanor became even more serious. The other two's face hardened in accordance, and whatever thoughts there remained about the previous topics had then been shoved to the back-burner. For now, the burning question was why Tsunade would be requesting him when she had previously been content to have him holed up in the village at his own volition. She had been against his tutor taking him away again so soon to learn Sage-training, and had only gotten her way because of Naruto's own desire to focus on seals.

"Well, best go see what the old lady wants."

"What did we just talk about? Something about stopping and thinking before we speak, maybe?"

"Hey, I'm just telling it how it is."

"Should I go on ahead to announce your attendance, sire?"

"Shut up, Neji."

"Of course, sir."

"Ugh!"

How could anyone assume he was making this up? It was a silly thought to assume he'd ever need more than one reality.

* * *

The Hōkage's office was somewhere he was familiar with. The oblong walls would smoothly slide into his life as a safe and inviting cocoon. The room where he saw the kind old man who was the closest thing to a family he could claim in this world. There was an undying sense of security within its walls, even when intruded upon by unsavory news or individuals, and even when the old man was no longer there.

The incongruously young-looking blonde woman who had barged her way behind the sturdy oak desk and into his life would also begin to hold a dear place in his heart. Right up there with his _other_ blonde family who had been there since childhood. Sure, she didn't smile nearly as much, but he couldn't resent that. It wouldn't be her fault that every time he would be called back to that oval office, the occasion would be a serious one.

But, there it was. And he was just as much victim of his environment as everyone else.

"Whad'ya want, ya old hag?"

Perhaps he had overcompensated for his teammate's overacted decorum. He was usually subtler about his manners when around Tenten, who found no humor in his rude address to the village leader.

"Naruto…"

The scores of menacing implements which hovered just above his head retracted as the predictably sever woman in front of them coughed obtrusively. All three of them dropped pretenses of being human and fell into attention.

"Word from Jiraya's spies indicate that Akatsuki is moving faster than predicted." If their attention hadn't been laser-like before, as it was now the woman could practically feel the heat on her forehead. "They also claim that the Nibi's Jinchῡriki is currently out of their village on a mission, which will leave them dangerously exposed. I'm sending you to intercept and intervene. If at all possible you will try and **not** make contact with the other Jinchῡriki. Even if this is a mutually beneficial action, another village might not see it as such and view it as an infringement on their territory. Do I make myself clear?"

This question was directed singularly at Naruto, in essence telling him that she was making him a compromise of sorts. He was hesitant to thank her for it, but luckily no thanks were necessary.

"Hai, Hōkage-sama."

An approving nod and what he hoped was a smile hidden behind her folded hands.

"You will also be taking along reinforcements. Neji may accompany you, but he will not be leading and will most likely only be able to offer auxiliary support."

This was an odd demand for their second mission back together. Yamato they knew was out on his own tasks, but to be so express about not placing Neji in charge was like a sense of vertigo trying to sweep them off their feet.

"May I ask why, Hōkage-sama?" His composure may have been legendary, but to be so blatantly separated from his comrades was an affront on multiple levels.

"The current Nibi's association is with Kumo, and under no circumstances are you to follow the mission over their borders."

The pieces should have been clear to Naruto even before that, already knowing the identity of their target. But the stars were then aligned for all three of them. The strangely shaped orders were to fit a strangely shaped niche. The Fifth Hōkage knew their dynamic well enough to know that Neji would not allow his teammates to fight a battle without him if he could help it. Even if that meant traveling so near to a country which had coveted his eyes for decades and would not stop under the pretense of being allies.

"This is your target." The woman threw a small but familiar picture to the only other female, knowing that she was most in need of it.

Tenten sent a sideways glance back at Naruto but held her tongue. Placated on some levels but forced once again to defer her questions for now.

"You will be leaving as soon as you and your other squad mates are ready. They should be here shortly."

The familiar faces which greeted them would unfortunately be beset by the same grim determination which marked their last trip together. All except for the silver-haired J nin whose mask was forever unreadable, but whose eye would carefully survey the mood of his team with a disarming levity.

It would take them almost a day to reach the planned route where they would intercept the two Akatsuki. Punctuated only by a few hours of sleep in which no one would get much rest.

* * *

It was a good thing that Ruby was not the jealous type. If she were, it would have been especially hard to accept that Naruto had been able to divulge his secret without consequences (so far).

Of course, she wasn't. Thus, it was an easier pill to swallow, and yet another life lesson telling her to be more proactive on things. It went without saying that she would have to own up to her own secret with her team some time, and sooner rather than later. It also might have made it a little bit better to see his success, giving her hope for her own.

Plus, Tenten thought she was cool, so there was no way she could feel bad about that.

"You're looking pretty chipper this morning."

Her partner commented with approval, glad at least for the change since the last night.

Both Ruby and Naruto had their own problems to work through in their unique ways. But this would be the first and last time she spent a night on her own willingly. The cold and lonely branch had expunged her impatience and convinced her once again that she needed others in her life.

Slaughtering a horde of Beowulf and a lone Ursa on her way back to Beacon had also helped to satiate her for a while.

"Mm-hm. Starving though!"

"Thought you would be. Here." Blake slid plate with a couple slices of French Toast sliced into finger-sized pieces and topped with powder sugar and strawberries.

"So that's why you got that…" Solving the puzzle as to why the reserved woman had opted for the decadent sweets instead of her usual fish congee.

A sharp intake of breath followed by the bench shifting roughly showed that her gift was appreciated.

"How did you know?" The question already had powder-sugar surrounding it.

Blake rolled her eyes. "It wasn't hard to guess."

"But you got it for me without knowing where I'd gone." Looking at the offering forlornly, she set her fork down. "How did you know I'd come back?"

A shrug, which bobbed her black curls. It was the older girl's answer half the time anyway.

"You're just not the type of person to leave people hanging." Ruby brightened seeing her partner nod her head lightly as well. "Besides, we all have our quirks that we're just going to have to get used to."

Weiss looked a little reluctant to agree with this statement, but dangerously offered her partner another smile which earned her a bone-crushing hug.

"Yang?" The normally boisterous woman had compartmentalized herself from the reunion until directly addressed. "I'm sorry I blew up at you. Can you forgive me?"

"Of course I can, silly!" Her jubilant words were belied by the dampness in her eyes. "I just… I want to help you out as best I can."

It had been hard coming to terms with it, but perhaps going along with her father's plan hadn't been the best decision. The difference between crazy and odd wasn't nearly so large as the gap between a happy and a sad Ruby. She knew which one she preferred, if one was the price to pay for the other. As far as she could tell, whatever fantasies her sister lived hadn't hurt her- except for their discovery. Medicine a poison for the wrong problem.

"I know you do, sis."

* * *

"Ruby Rose vs. Team CRDL"

Morning would see them in Glynda Goodwitch's class again and would find her under the spotlight opposite four very indignant looking male youths. It was supposed to be a lesson in fighting off multiple opponents, and it was also _supposed_ to be Pyrrha Nikos, the most experienced first-year in her place. But in the giddy afterglow of this morning's reunion and the remembrance of the night previous, she would have agreed to any ill-advised request, even one so poorly masquerading revenge.

"Are the combatants ready?"

"Oh yeah, you better believe it." The whole class could hear the lumbering leader of team CRDL's grip tighten around the leather handle of his mace.

In the audience, Ruby's teammates weren't sure what was more incomprehensible: their captain's ignorance of the palpable animosity, or the fact that the professor was overlooking it.

"Whenever you are." The girl's reply was light amidst the heavy air, one hand on her weapon which had already tasted blood that day.

"Begin!"

Ire was evident in Glynda's face as she stood far off to the side, but she didn't stop the fight even when the four jumped the gun ahead of her signal and blitzed the lone girl with a ferocity of wild dogs.

Was it her supreme confidence in Ruby which extended her patience? Or was there some ulterior motive?

Regardless, any worry she did possess would have been wasted on Ruby, and better spent on the four males who were blinded by their rage that they couldn't hit the broadside of a Goliath, much less a pipsqueak who was all to keen to run between their legs and let them do the hard work.

Despite the heft of his weapon, Cardin was the first to reach Ruby with an overhand swing that could be seen a mile away much less across the ring. With the musculature she put on after a few weeks of steadily increasing her diet, she might have been able to block it. But that would have just been showing off.

Sky Lark was the next one she had to watch out for because his halberd gave him reach enough to match her scythe- which was yet collapsed on the small of her back.

Turning the simple sidestep away from Cardin's mace into a pirouette, Ruby unfurled _Crescent Rose_ with the momentum and batted away the oncoming axe. Twirling it around herself and appearing to come for an overhand strike which was fearfully anticipated by Sky bracing his weapon above his head. This preemptive block was used as a welcome stepping stone as she brought her weapon down to the ground and vaulted from the offered beam, bringing her weapon down again onto Russel who could only gape in mute horror before the tip of her blade poked him in the back of his head and knocked him out of the fight.

While most huntsmen and huntresses had their Aura naturally distributed over their body, it was a misleading temptation to think that it was _evenly_ distributed. Whether consciously or otherwise, Aura tended to congregate in the areas where one most focused on in a fight, and it took a concerted effort to divert it anywhere else. Not only was the back of the head a difficult place to conceptualize, it also constituted one of the most vulnerable areas as the nerves from the spine flowed into the skull.

He was out before he hit the floor.

And as soon as he did, he became an obstacle for his teammates trying to assist Dove who was fending off a ferocious series of blows from a girl ¾'s his size who had yet to break a sweat.

Ruby knew that she was still not the most skilled weapon's user she knew, and she certainly wasn't the most durable even compared to her classmates. It wouldn't be a stretch to put her in the top percentile for the former and she had certainly improved in the latter, but by the same breath it was always good to know your limits. Along with that, one needed to have the humility to recognize that someone would always be better than you.

Dove was no slouch with his sword. She had the benefit of seeing him duel another student and wipe the floor with them. And so she knew that if she let the fight go on long enough he'd be able to land a convenient strike, or more likely, delay her long enough for his teammates to get her.

She wouldn't give him the chance.

Whatever vindictiveness he'd had at the beginning of the fight had very quickly been eschewed for the simple priority of staying alive. Finesse had gone out the window as this petit girl hammered on his defenses with her ridiculously large weapon, not even letting him breath but not looking out of breath herself. His only consolation was that relief was split-seconds away.

Yet in a fight that could be decided in just that long, he still had reason to worry.

"Take this!"

While the yelling didn't help, Ruby already knew that Sky was behind her with his pole-arm aimed at the small of her spine. She pretended to only notice him at the last second, but flexing her body just a few hand's width out of the way was enough to avoid becoming a paraplegic and trip him up both figuratively, but also literally as she then shoved a booted foot underneath his feet.

The blue-haired young man would have been sprawled out on the floor if not for the back of Ruby's scythe rescuing him at the last moment. Although, rescuing was perhaps too generous a term as she then heaved him into the sword-wielding Bronzewing.

After that maneuver, she actually had to give Cardin a significant portion of her attention as he lit into her with unabashed fury.

It was not unfair to say the young man was strong. His first blow that she deflected still managed to rattle her bones and the second made her hands throb in protest. She would not let him get a third in, however, and offer her own instead. Showing that her scythe wasn't just a cardboard mockup.

With the first retaliatory strike, one could see the young man's surprise with this fact. But halfway through reposting it, he had overcome the shock with his unquenchable indignity. How much would it help, though? The blade as sharp as the moon's outline carved a howling rhythm in the air in front of him, accompanied by the shrieking vocals of metal on metal with no end to their symphony.

Bullish in demeanor, but certainly not as dumb as the bovines, Cardin knew that he was being goaded into a trap. Worse, it was working as each rapid-fire blow on his defense stunk of mediocrity: she was _still_ holding back and it pissed him off to no end.

With a glint in his eye and a roar, he charged, ignoring the impending blow which he might not have been able to avoid anyway, and shoved the spiked warhead in her face. It eclipsed the girl's gullibly wide expression of surprise with the sudden reversal.

There was a satisfying resistance on the other end. A not-so-solid object caving under the entire weight of himself and the forged steel.

Should he really be chuckling so self-satisfyingly at landing a crushing blow on a girl, three years his junior and probably about a third of his weight? Probably not, but Cardin was raised to be pragmatic. There were no 'shoulds', you just did.

He also shouldn't have been so eager to gloat, but that's what he did by letting his mace drop and folding his arms on the hilt. Guffawing as he stared down at the crumpled form of-

"Dove?!"

It had only been a few weeks. Their teamwork still needed fine-tuning. In this respect, it could be argued that Ruby actually held the advantage against the horde, and would not have nearly as much luck against a singularly skilled opponent. The difference was that she knew this, and was actively planning on her next fight. Be it next hour, next day, next week or month- it didn't matter.

She also knew to finish a fight definitively before celebrating. Qrow had beaten that into her, it was only fair she do the same.

The shadow which descended over Cardin was brilliant in the intense stage light- but diffuse as the angles shone from every direction. It wouldn't have mattered anyway, as even with his blind and desperate heaving he could not raise his monstrous weapon fast enough to defend the downward swing of _Crescent Rose_ directly on his two-handed grip.

"Argh!"

More than a grunt but less than tears, the blow may or may not have shattered at least one thumb. It would nonetheless have the effect of making him drop his club.

The intense sodium-vapor lights already blinding him did little to help, even if he could hear the clomping of her boots as they landed on the hollow stage and sprinted at him. The fumbling swipe with his bear-paw went way high as she went way low, sweeping his legs out from underneath him and toppling the giant. The back of his head hit the mat, and the blinding light became a field of stars.

"Enough!"

It would take a few seconds for everyone in the audience to comprehend what had happened, and an additional few, blinking minutes more until Cardin could wrap his spinning head around the situation. Two of his teammates had dragged themselves back up off the ground (chagrinned to note that Dove was the exception) and might have come to his defense had Glynda not stopped the match.

He was glad she did, though. It was painfully obvious what would happen next. Staring down the bottomless hole of a gun barrel left few alternatives. Not when his aura was surely in the red and the 12.5mm hexagonally rifled bore with a 1-in-15 twist was so close he could smell the dust in the shell waiting on the other end.

"That's enough, Miss Rose. Please stand down."

It might have seemed inappropriate to most that Glynda chose to speak now when she wouldn't do it earlier. But it was more a reprieve for the victorious girl and not the losers. Glynda was making it so that Ruby would not have to give that painful ultimatum to the defeated: continue, or else.

It was disconcerting how long it seemed to take the one brandishing the weapon to heed the command, that endless pit staring at him far too long for his comfort. Though there was that brief instance in which he wished he had it back when presented with the alternative:

A hand. Delicate and pale, extended down to him with a slim, unperturbed smile connected to it. He would have laughed, but there was nothing funny about this situation.

Batting the hand away with more venom which was called for, he struggled to be helped to his feet by his remaining teammates and a few medics who had come to haul off Dove. It was easy to ignore the jeers at his poor sportsmanship and excoriating analysis of their skills by the combat teacher. Easy to ignore a lot of things including physical pain when confronted with the pain of humiliation. His sight which was weaving in and out of focus set on that passive set of steely gray eyes tracking him as he was hauled disgracefully out of the room.

The anger he possessed would not wain, but it would grow to be accompanied by a new sensation. One which was foreign to him, but ironically dear to his new mortal adversary:

Fear.

Never would he admit it out loud, but that looming question would threaten to devour him lest he placate it with heavy doses of vengeance.

Would she have pulled the trigger?

Would Cardin ever admit to himself that he was afraid of Ruby Rose?

* * *

Ozpin would begin his conversation with a glowing compliment on her performance, totally opposed to the veiled redaction from Goodwitch, and almost bouncing off the nonplussed girl.

Admittingly, she enjoyed the mild praise the man metered out to her like medicine. Signal and the Institution had set a low bar, though, and this was something to keep in mind.

The latter two had taught her that such things always came with strings attached.

The headmaster's baggage was never clear, even after he explained it. This was a given. From the beginning she knew that he held his cards close to his chest even when showing his hand. The knowledge that he would ask something of her was the only promise, the difficulty of the task a predetermined fact. In a way, that surety made things easier, taste slightly less bitter.

His warnings and threats were given with that same offhandedness. Simply telling her that 'things were going to happen soon' and then dismissing her so that she didn't give it a second thought. Not until she was retracing her steps back to Team RWBY's dorm, and then it became all she could think about.

This continued to be a flaw shared by both halves. Discovering the world within, they were all too content to stay there, thus missing crucial aspects of their surroundings. She may have had the most ninja-like senses within three generations (at least in her world), but that only helped her when she was actually using them and not staring at her plodding feet while trying to wrap her mind around what sort of dangers awaited her, and by association, her team.

"Hey there, _**shorty**_."

Her hand spasmed reflexively, grasping at nothing. She quickly remembered that Glynda had been stubborn about having her weapons stored in the student lockers after her class, and thus she didn't have _Crescent Rose_ with her.

"Cardin."

She could still handle this if it came to it. But it wouldn't- she was not too proud to run away with her semblance.

"That was a rather… _cute_ performance you gave today." He was making no attempt to make his words agree with anything else on his person, mouth coiled in a sneer and hand held dubiously behind his back.

"What do you want?"

Her words were curt but unprovocative- at least in her opinion. Cardin seemed to take offense with her breathing. She followed her probing up with a slow gesture of putting her fist in her open palm- a symbolic gesture in Naruto's world and seemingly a universal human expression of reconciliation and peace. She wanted him to know she held nothing against him. But mostly she did it just as a steadying gesture for her own mind.

"Nothing, _Red_ , just wanted to congratulate you on your win," The reminder did nothing for her, but drew contrite flinches from the other three members of team CRDL and an extra throbbing tick in Cardin's neck. "I mean, it's quite the accomplishment for such a _special_ girl." He shrugged, exposing a light stack of papers in his left hand. "You must have gone through a lot- and to be able to overcome that and attend Beacon? It's almost like those stories on Barleys cereal boxes about the retard athletes- you know, _inspiring_."

Those sharp silver eyes needn't have caught the painfully familiar header on those pages. Cardin's poor innuendo was enough to lead her to why he had confronted her.

"Shouldn't you be off licking your wounds? Not picking another fight you can't win?"

It wasn't her style, but like a cornered animal she snapped out wherever she could and at the weakest targets. Cardin's backup catching on rather quick themselves, lesser animals deferring to the apex predator.

But that was still Cardin. They might have been scared of her ability, but they were male, and she female. It was simply a proclivity that was difficult to shake even when stared in the face. To them she was still Beta, and when their Alpha barked at them they came shivering with their tail in between their legs.

"You might be pretty damn good, certainly earned your place here on skill alone." The older male whipped his head back around with a barely-constrained fury, careful not to wrinkle the papers in his hands. "But what do you think Ozpin will do if he finds out you went to the Looney-Bin?" He took her silent shaking as fear, and like his previous defeat lauded his victory prematurely.

"You know, you must have a guardian angel watching over you. I mean- do you know how hard it was to find these? My dad had to call in a bunch of favors from fellow council members who had to be _persuaded_ to remember what that one council session had been about."

"Heh." The slight yip of laughter was not what he was expecting, and it drew out a bit of his repressed fear. "A guardian angel, huh? Who do you think that is, hmm? Go ahead, tell Ozpin, see what he does." There was a perverse pleasure she was drawing from his suddenly paling face, a heat like a magma welling up from deep within her psyche.

"F-fine! Even better! I'll get that incompetent headmaster kicked out too, just you wait-!"

Waving the papers at her like a sword was perhaps not the best idea. They were just copies, but to have the nail slashes tearing through the pages hairs above his fingers was not a reassuring feeling.

"Do you really think that's a wise idea?"

Ruby was staring at her nails like she was inspecting them for dirt. But with those suddenly pointed tips staring voraciously at the ceiling, she was more likely to find bits of flesh stuck under crimson nail polish. With that simple gesture, it was like the wad of shredded pages had been shoved down Cardin's throat.

"I mean- you are threatening a _crazy_ girl." Suddenly looking up at them and cocking her head at an oddly sever angle, she could still appreciate the sweat dribbling down the four's sunken faces. "You never know… what… I might be… _tempted_ to do…"

It was a bluff. It had to be. This wasn't her. This was a Ruby without trepidations, without doubts, sure. But was it really her? It was beginning to feel like a dream, her type of dream where she could see and feel and touch and taste everything 'she' did. But she wasn't in control.

She could give up control. It would get results- it was providing results as she stalked creeping step by creeping step to the ghoulishly afraid boys, the stench of their bodies excreting everything from sweat to fear to other, less-pleasant smells- even those were sweeter than the freshest strawberry to her right now.

"L-look, we were just messing around. W-we won't tell anybody anything- h-hey, it's all in the past now, right, guys? Guys?" But his backup had already fled at the sound of his own voice, and Cardin was left alone with the handful of shredded pages. With the crimson girl with equally red Aura dwarfing her and filling up the hallway like nerve gas.

"Go."

Cardin did.

Staring at his retreating backside, scrambling down the smooth tiles like his pants were on fire was too much for all the new emotions welling up in her, and the primordial feelings gave way to good, old-fashioned comedy.

She snickered. She laughed. She cackled uproariously which devolved into tittering giggles as she practically skipped down the hallway to her dorm where friends were waiting with warm smiles and warmer welcomes.

Maybe being crazy wasn't so bad.

* * *

Winter would cover everything in sparkling blankets of snow, making it as silent as the grave by the time the girl in the red cloak reached the solitary cabin, deep in the woods. The sight of her mother's house a faded memory, no more tangible now than it was before. Just like her purpose.

She would approach the door which had not budged in decades and rap thrice upon it. An empty sound, deadened by the smothering snow.

"It's not locked." The voice of the mother she could hardly remember would call from inside.

But even as she tried the handle, the soaked and swollen wood would not budge. It would not even rattle.

"Mother," She called to the dark and cobwebbed windows. "I can't get in."

"There's a hole around the side big enough for you to crawl through."

It would be there, just as she said. A gnawed and scratched entrance in the snowbank which lead deep underground. She would crawl in, head first, and there would be just enough room to push the basket ahead of her.

It would be cold. Perversely even colder than it was outside. The cloak around her shoulders not enough to stave off the bitter feeling, and its enchanting presence dulled by the muddy walls and roots which snagged long tears like lightning bolts.

But there would be a light at the end of the tunnel, a dim warmth which she desperately crawled towards.

* * *

 **So the Barleys cereal is a joke on Wheaties, as barely is another grain. Still wondering if I shouldn't have called it 'Farrows', but fewer people probably know what that is.**

 **And before you ask, no, Ruby has not gone off the deep end… or has she? One reviewer I know might have connected the dots already, but hopefully this chapter will inspire more of you.**

 **Also, just a note on grammar: I know I'm often obtuse and confusing (if not wrong). But one thing that bugs me is author's use of 'nonplussed'. It means surprised, not a deadpan. I think I used that in this chapter?**


	20. 2nd Edition

**Happy Easter Everybody! Even if you're from another culture, I think we can all get behind any excuse to be lazy and eat chocolate. None of that getting up early s*** and feeling bad about sinning. That's crazy talk.**

 **Anyway, first off, just wanted to let you know that I've decided to keep the rating the way it is for now. I already feel like this story is treading into themes that can be considered 'mature' (but what do I know? I was reading** **All Quiet on the Western Front** **,** **The Color Purple** **,** **My Uncle Oswald** **and laughing at** **Catcher in the Rye** **when I was thirteen). Not planning on making a lemon here, so unless I get a nasty-gram from FF telling me to cease and desist it stays T. Thanks for all those who gave their input, though, and know that it won't effect anything in the plot.**

 **And as always, thanks to everyone who reviewed. You guys are my lifeblood. Gracias! Merci beaucoup! Danke shurn! Domo arigato gozaimasu! (and a few more that are too troublesome to type because I don't have Cyrillic or Arabic on my keyboard).**

 **That being said, I apologize in advance as I feel this chapter is not quite up to my usual standards. It serves its purpose though, so I leave it here for judgment with only the promise that things get vastly better in the near future. One of the reasons I have been holding off publishing the chapters I already have written is for this sole aversion.**

 **So, there it is.**

* * *

An entire day which had passed, crammed into hours. A world underneath a puddle. A universe of thought distilled into one or two pervading questions.

Even something as small as this Naruto didn't have time for as he sped with his team across the Elemental Nations at what some might consider undue haste. To them, it was never enough for the unconquerable paradox they were stuck in. Traveling halfway to the intercept point last night, half of the remaining distance in the next few hours upon waking, half again after that… always halfway, and never there.

Another paradox. Naruto was both proud and disappointed with the way Ruby confronted her bullies. Comforted and admittedly, a little afraid at what he had witnessed transpire. If it was just an act, it was a good one. And something he never believed his other capable of. Could she really have hidden something like that from him, or did he willfully ignore it? He didn't know, and that's what scared him.

Did there exist a third possible explanation? Not here, not now, at least. He had his own concerns which had already been committed to.

"How much longer, Kakashi-taicho?"

Watches were a luxury in his world, and something he'd never had use for previously. Maybe if he'd had one they wouldn't be stuck in this eternity waiting. Or maybe they still would, the old adage about watched pots never boiling.

"From what we gathered of the Kumo team's mission, they would have started heading back from the Hidden Waterfall territory yesterday." The silver-haired man would reply patiently, knowing somehow the blond had missed this in the debriefing but in no way holding it against him. "Their path will take them past Hidden Sound, and so the Akatsuki will likely strike somewhere in between the two, not wanting to incite either outside force. We're about 20 minutes out from the most Southern route they're likely to take."

"We're going to want to stay as far away from the latter as well." Feeling unusually chatty, Sasuke added his own two-cents. Maybe it was because the talk was associated with the Hidden Sound. Maybe that was his own fear manifesting.

Sasuke had made progress, but all life was a struggle against forces inside and out trying to return one to steady-state. His more the latter.

The timetable was reassuring for Naruto- and being nowhere near Kumogakure was even better. He felt better having his teammate available for backup, especially with monsters like Kisame and Sasuke's brother lurking about. It wouldn't be wise to count on fate smiling on him again, like it did for Deidera.

"It'd be a good idea in general to keep our eyes peeled from here on out." Naruto's other genin teammate said, giving him especially a meaningful look as she caught up to the conversation. "Be sure to keep your head up, Naruto."

To the others it was part of friendly jibing. Especially with the adroit smirk on Tenten's face it was just two comrades giving one another nervous pre-battle chatter. They would not know how reassuring it was for him to have her company just then. She had always been his anchor, and it was good to know he could still count on her for that.

Not to mention her competence. With Sasuke and Kakashi to cover close range with their precognitive sight, her long-range capabilities were invaluable. For all else, there was him.

There was no plan C. There were still just too many variables to the operation. How many and who exactly they were fighting being one. How capable were the Kumo team in defending themselves? What if they were all dead, and the Jinchῡriki captured, held against incredible odds by powerful foes? And most importantly, would they be fighting with, or against their unwitting allies?

Those would be the types of useless questions he eschewed. No plan survived first contact, after all.

Hand drifting down to that comfortable weight at his side, the wrapped sharkskin grip struck an odd sensation under his fingertips. It was the same size and heft as his previous one which he left back in River Country- which should come as no surprise because they were of the same maker. Yet somehow it felt different. For a while now, even that previously endearing weapon felt, for a better term, lacking.

It would have to do, though.

* * *

The smell of blood hit before the sight, and the foreboding presence just moments before that. That niggling sense was like the death of a Grimm as they sublimated into an unaccountably fine dust- so thin as to not even be there yet invading the mind like a haunting melody.

"Here it comes."

No one needed to ask him what he meant as they dropped down from the canopy to the forest floor sticky with death.

"Are we too late?" Not in possession of that fabled Dōjutsu, Tenten asked as she was incapable of seeing the enemy which caused this slaughter.

"It's too fresh, they can't have gotten far." Braving the stench, Sasuke inspected one of the nearest Kumo ninja, flies not yet feasting on the man's exposed entrails.

"But where?" There were too many frenzied footprints layered one on top of the other to track, and Kakashi's ninja-hounds would have nothing to hunt even if they could smell anything past the olid smell of blood.

A pulse of energy like a sideways atmosphere slamming into them made this question superfluous. Turning against the instinct which drove them away, they traced it back to its source.

The feeling emanated from a narrow crevasse which they knew they'd have to enter. It was rent into the sheer cliff face rising out of the earth taller than the tree tops, a vertical lightning strike of a gap only half again as wide as a man with his arm's outstretched- a horrible place to be trapped that was for sure.

Further fighting their common sense, they had to follow the sounds of fighting into the maw.

"Naruto, you go first. You'll have the best chance at surrounding the enemy if we travel single-file." Unless the crag opened up past the mouth there would be no room to skirt a fight, and Naruto would be an explosive in a contained space. "I'll leave one of my summons here as a message, something tells me we won't have very good radio contact once inside."

They would proceed without further ado, but with a cautious haste through the winding passageway. It was impossible to see the combatants, but equally impossible to ignore the ferocious sounds of battle echoing down the walls. How anyone was able to conduct a fight in this situation, much less survive an ambush against two S-ranked opponents was anyone's guess.

It wouldn't be long until they found out, staring at the two black-cloaked backs.

"Mother Fucker! There ain't enough room in this shithole for me to use the ritual!"

"Quit whining! It also means she can't use the Two-Tails transformation, or do you want to have to deal with getting eaten? Just be patient."

"Patient? This from a guy who always tells me not to waste his precious time!"

"That's because time is money, but I'd rather be alive to bring my bounty in."

They could have interrupted the Akatsuki's argument with a snappy retort- something about how neither of them would be around to collect it. But having two of the shinobi world's most dangerous criminals in the most compromising position one could hope for was just too good a position not to exploit.

There would be an explosion of action and enough swear words to break the bank, tossed around and reflected in that acoustic trap. It was bottled chaos for about five seconds in which attacks were funneled as neat as could be managed, careful not to hit allies or the target which none had still laid eyes on.

The rock walls on either side would not let the fog of war dissipate, and Naruto cursed this as he hopefully landed on the other side of the two Akatsuki. A hand shifted his orange scarf over his nose to stave off the fine particulate from entering his lungs as he watched the meandering shadows with anticipation.

Ducking his head and dropping to his knees only moments before a blade gave him an overdue haircut, he lamented leaving his once iconic goggles a home as the chalky dust made his eyes water. Once on the ground as flat as a snake, he rolled quickly to avoid the stab he could hear descending upon him. He stopped as he came up against the immutable stone, ripping his mask off his face so he could bellow a warning.

"Wait! Stop! We're here to help!"

Though there would be no choice but to defend the next strike aimed to crucify him to the wall, though he would have enough instinct to latch on to his attacker and hold them in place.

"Hear me out- we're not your enemy, we're fighting the Akatsuki just like you-!"

Words became static as the slender wrist in his grip exploded in electricity. He might have screamed, but amidst the rest of the cacophony it would matter little.

Still, he would hold on, electric signals compelling his muscles to clench and thus unable to release.

"Not… enemies… friends… like you…"

It wasn't so much his words that cut the current coursing through his body, but the fact that he could resist as much electric potential with such dogged resistance.

"You're Konoha shinobi." Voice like an Italian soda, now melted into a watery mess by the constant heat she'd been under. "What the hell are you doing here, and what do you mean that you are friends?"

She would've broken his now limp grip with ease, but didn't because there was a feeling her question would be answered in but little time. The demon inside of her who had been chomping at the bit for some time now was now oddly silent at the accidental contact.

"I'm a…. I'm a Jin-Jinchῡ-" His tongue was numb, perhaps he'd taken a little bit too much abuse. Though he couldn't make up his mind on that. Another sign his head was scrambled.

"Which one?"

The woman staring at him with scimitar eyes didn't need anymore speech, and only his shaking hands to hold up two almost-full sets of fingers for her to be satisfied.

"What're you doing here?"

His answer was to lurch suddenly against her pressing, latching on in her shock and ignoring the blade she'd jammed against his neck.

Her next sensation was disconcerting vertigo, still sandwiched between two walls of rock but with nothing underneath to ground her.

There was a grunt as the blond interdictor slammed against the side and slapped his palm against the rock, hoping to get a handhold before they dropped down into the renewed smoke cloud beneath them.

He must have managed to stick himself using chakra against the rough surface, because his other hand shot out and grabbed her wrist again, her body swinging like a pendulum towards the side of the crag. Like a gymnast she maneuvered her feet to meet the hackly surface, sticking there with much the same purpose.

Resisting the urge to praise his quick thinking, she looked up with a cocked eyebrow to see the teen hanging from one stiff arm and a hooked blade jammed into the rocky surface. What kind of person had the chakra control for the shunshin drilled inside their head, but not something so basic as wall-walking?

Naruto was still more than a little messed up from being electrocuted, but was able enough to dodge the hail of threadlike tentacles which had threatened to spear them. His hands and feet were still numb, but that didn't prevent him from drawing the kusarigama on instinct alone to save him from a nasty fall. He doubted that Yugito would have done him the favor of catching him, even if he did save both of their lives.

"Suppose I believe you," Yugito began, regaining some of that coolness which seemed appropriate for someone like her, despite the hollow black beads of the bandaged Akatsuki member staring up at them. "You got a plan?"

The zombie-like man on the ground raised a hand to the sky, but before he could do more than lift a finger more at them he was besieged by flames which engulfed him and the entire crag like a river.

"I didn't come alone." Naruto managed to get out past the strain of maneuvering himself against the crumbling wall. "So, who are these guys?"

After a brief pause of hesitation, Yugito gave him a harried rundown on their two opponents. The immortality part was worrying, but neither of them had displayed any skills which looked too troublesome to overcome, or too fast to outrun.

With the Sharingan, the dust was more benefit than detriment from what they could see. His teammates were holding their own, for now.

Kakashi found himself against Kakuzu, the ex-Waterfall shinobi who was a Frankenstein monster of his own making with all the benefits of that monstrosity and none of the detriments. The piecemeal approach to his humanity allowing him to control the very threads which held his body together and have plenty of spare parts apparently.

Sasuke was seemingly playing with Hidan, the foul-mouthed disciple of a cruel god who took his immortality as permission to forgo any semblance of subtly. The Konoha shinobi struck countless blows against the juggernaut, avoiding the cumbersome triple-bladed scythe- fate being ironic again, it seemed. But no luck in felling him thus far.

Tenten was supporting his raven-haired comrade from behind- where she could. Harrying the silver-haired acolyte with well-placed kunai, but having scant opportunity in this cramped battleground. In order to use her closer-ranged weapons, she'd somehow have to get past the two in front of her. Though from what he'd just learned, maybe it was better she'd stay far away from the scythe's long reach.

One did not want to get injured by Hidan. Not only for the obvious, but even a scratch would allow the man to conjure countless more wounds on his target.

"Which one do you want?"

He saw Yugito glance hatefully at the Jashinist, his half-naked form being excoriated by her cat-like eyes as if she could eviscerate him from their perch far above. Then she shook it off and leapt off the wall towards Kakuzu.

Naruto would be lying if he didn't prefer it this way. No matter how capable Tenten proved herself, he would always feel responsible for protecting her.

He too jumped towards the fray.

"Would you-*Schling!*-Quit-*Clang!*-Moving around?!" Hidan took another lumbering swing at the wily Uchiha, his massive blade proving a detriment in this close-quarters battle and scraping loudly against the rock wall. Though he was not an elite for nothing, and was matching the young Uchiha prodigy's skill with a blade despite the disadvantage of maneuverability.

Sasuke looked almost bored as he used his physical speed to dodge the telegraphed blow. Taking another hack with his electricity-covered sword at the offensively ugly scythe but declining to get too close to the immortal who'd already survived several stabs, electrocutions, and emulating a pincushion when Tenten had first paved their way.

None of the wounds he'd inflicted- shallow or otherwise had slowed the scythe-wielder down much, and the man's religious devotion somehow was able to override any of the Dōjutsu's illusionary techniques.

He could say he was biding his time, but for what? None of his physical attacks had much effect. If only he had the Amaterasu, the seven-days burning flame would surely occupy the man for enough time. Now it was merely waiting for inspiration from above.

It just so happened his prayers were delivered.

"Why should I hold still?" Sasuke asked mockingly, resting his blade in the crook oh his elbow. "You're just too slow to catch me anyway."

"You little cock-sucker-!" Hidan swore violently as he angled the massive scythe parallel to the walls and charging with a blind fury.

Only at the last few steps did it become something more than a petulant child throwing a tantrum. The pale man drove his weapon into the ground and vaulted over Sasuke. The Uchiha took the opportunity to reach out and try to pluck him out of the sky, but had to abandon this attempt as the man's scythe trailed after him on a seemingly indestructible chain connected to his wrist. It jerked and lunged at Sasuke in an eccentric path, its movements being controlled by the man at the other end.

Sasuke might have considered himself an exceptional swordsman, but the Konoha shinobi also considered himself lucky to avoid the raking blade with only a small scratch along his shoulder.

"Ha ha! Now I've got you, prepare to die fucker!"

Sneering past the stinging pain, Sasuke turned back at the inordinately ecstatic man and scoffed.

"You're still too slow."

"We'll see about tha- what?!"

Hidan had to lean on the haft of his weapon as he tripped mid-stride.

"You're not bad with that scythe, gotta say…" The chain around the irate man's ankles constricted and he toppled over, waving his weapon and equally sharp words around willy-nilly. "But Sasuke's right, you're not nearly fast enough."

"Like I said- we'll see about that!" With the fervency only a religious zealot could posses, he struck blindly at the air above him, just in time to catch an orange and black figure phase in above him with a pathetically small scythe raised above his head.

"Not so slow now, am I, you dick-licker!" The prone man yelled at the blond shinobi who had tried to get the drop on him, the whelp staring cross-eyed at the blade imbedded in his head.

Before he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"-The fuck?"

"Too slow."

The words like a parent's admonishment came once again from behind as did the invisibly fast swipe which passed over him like a wraith.

Hidan looked confusedly at his now stump of an arm, cut cleanly at the elbow and bleeding like a geyser as he sat up.

"Huh, now this has potential." Reluctantly the Akasuki looked over his shoulder to see the same blond he'd skewered admiring his scythe- the other end of the chain connected to his severed arm.

"That's mine you piece of shit!"

The newcomer flicked his attention at Hidan then, hefting the ungainly weapon over his shoulder and cocking his head playfully.

"Come and get it."

For a man recently deprived of his right arm, the S-rank nuke-nin did not seem to be too much inhibited as he freed himself from the kusarigama chain wrapped around his legs and whipped the bladed side of the weapon at Naruto who batted it away with a careless nudge with his trophy.

"Come on, don't be petty now."

"I'll show you petty, mother-fucker." The sound like grinding rock stopped as Hidan's gnashing teeth strained into a stringent smirk.

Naruto was disturbed for the first time in the fight- not even the arm trailing on the other end of his new weapon had as much impact as that crazy smile sprouting on the devout man's face. He recognized the taste of insanity even if it had never been directed at him. Behind the madness however, he managed to overlook the method.

"Tenten." He ordered with a straight face, not willing to waste any more time on this abomination.

"That's right, go ahead and ask your bitch-girlfriend to join us for the fun!"

His words never faltered, not even when said girl sent a handful of kunai straight into the man's spine. Not even when the whole cavernous battlefield heard the snake-like hiss of a half-dozen explosive tags burning away in the sudden silence. His smile was consumed by the orange flames and the maniacal snickering overcome by the bellowing blast which assaulted their eardrums.

Naruto lowered his canvas-sleeved arm which protected his face from debris to reveal a slight frown. Even if the man was immortal, he shouldn't be coming back from an explosion like that. Right?

Then why did he feel like it was too easy?

"Thanks for that, cunt! Now listen to the emo-kid scream!"

There was no time to parse the strange words out and no time to see where the attack had come from which felled his sour-faced comrade.

"Sasuke!"

The teen's screams were mostly of surprise as he collapsed to a knee, the other spasming slightly as dark blood soaked into his pants from behind.

"That's right! Scream! Cry! Your laments are eulogies for Jashin!"

One hand reaching out to his comrade, Naruto turned to look up at the rock wall where not long ago he'd been surveying the battle. Now he found Hidan there, stuck to the crevasse wall amidst a crimson drawing. The silver-haired man looking far more morbid with skeletal markings all over, but conversely unharmed from the explosion. In fact, the only wound he had apart from the missing arm was a self-inflicted kunai wound in his thigh-

Right where Sasuke's injury was.

Naruto's face paled as white as the bone markings painted on Hidan's now black skin. Yugito had told him about this technique, and how so many of her comrades had already fallen to the bloodthirsty man.

But not how it worked, or how to overcome it.

Guts tensed along with his hands and his heart as he split his attention between the laughing man and his writhing comrade. He could do nothing, not as long as whatever hold Hidan held over Sasuke remained. He was disgusted- with himself for being so helpless, but also with the man. This kind of connection- it was not dissimilar from his and Ruby's. In a way, it was the piece they had been missing all this time, actual, physical coalescence.

Another voice started to laugh, and he wanted to silence it then and there with the executioner's blade still in his hand.

But it was Sasuke.

"Such a small wound- not even a scratch." The dark-haired chuckled behind gritting teeth and hand clenched around his invisible wound. "Pathetic. There's no way I can be this pathetic, can I?" It was a rhetorical question, but Naruto felt like he should answer- dissuade his comrade from this notion. There was nothing coming to mind, though. Everything had been reversed so quickly that he was still trying to jog up to the here and now and find some way out of this mess.

"Naruto," The voice was calm, but there was that same manic lilt behind it- was the whole world going mad? "Don't worry about me. This is nothing. Show that asshole just what Konoha shinobi are supposed to be like- show him what strength is really like. I'll-" He cried as Hidan twisted the kunai in his leg, the man himself echoing it in ecstasy. "I'll not give him the _pleasure_ of seeing me succumb!"

It was easier said than done, but Naruto had no choice as he cantered to his feet, head once bowed now snapped up to glare at the cackling one-armed man.

-And for the first time noticed the esoteric markings the man was standing on, inscribed in the side of the cliff face with the blood still spewing from his severed arm. They were seals, odd and unknown to him, but if they worked anything like the ones he'd been dabbling in, he knew how to undo them.

"Just hang in there for a little bit, Sasuke." He hefted the triple-blade off his shoulder and planted the pole in the ground, other hand morphing into the only one-handed seal he knew he could do. "This just seems to be my fight, ya know?"

When he disappeared, he didn't hear his friend's whisper.

"That's the problem, you make everything your fight, leaving nothing for the rest of us."

"So you think you got balls, brat?!" The ghastly visage of Hidan's transmuted form twisted at him, raising the bloody kunai above his chest. "Go ahead- cleave me in two and let's see what happens to your little friend. Tough little-fucker's ready to die, but are you ready to let him?"

"No," Naruto admitted, not stopping in his stride as he blitzed sideways across the rock-wall at the Akatsuki whose iconic cloak shrugged off and hung limply towards the ground. The entirety of the depraved man's macabre tattoos where now on display, harkening death. "We're never going to be ready to let someone die, but-"

Hidan's eyes were already opened wide in perverse pleasure and battle lust, but as the young man neared him with his own blade trailing behind and gouging up the rock wall, the bloodshot irises nearly bugged out of his head. He was immortal, invincible, and yet that unassuming kid was on his personal crusade against everything the Jashinist stood for- not merely his religion or his beliefs but aiming to eradicate everything that he represented with one swing. There was no stopping him.

It was so naïve it made him laugh.

He was laughing all the while Naruto swung the cumbersome blade up and across as he leapt horizontally into the center of the chasm, the three blades tearing more than slicing the rock wall and eviscerating the mad sacrifice in a spray of heterogenous debris, mixed rock and human remains falling like hail to the ground below.

"HA HA HA HA! Stupid Little Fucker! You just killed your friend!" He wasn't so mad that the brat had stolen his sacrifice from him. For even as his torso sailed through the air, he picked out the two figures still tied to the ground, watching the dark-haired one's last moments with gleefully anticipation.

Then Sasuke stood up, leaning shakily on his sword, but stood none the less only to smirk up at Hidan once he was on his feet.

"No! What did you do?!" There was no chance to see Naruto as he had no control over the fall, but he knew the whelp heard him and could feel the blade- his own blade!- descend upon him.

Rather than slice him up some more, the back of the scythe batted his flailing and dismembered torso towards the earth where it landed in a small crater.

"You'll have to explain to me how you knew how to sever his connection." Sasuke told Naruto as he landed next to him. The scythe-wielder helped his comrade limp over to their other teammate, treading as far away from the groaning corpse of Hidan as possible in that narrow corridor. "I won't stand for being so helpless again."

"All I did was disrupt his seal," Naruto said simply, ignoring the coveting in Sasuke's demand and giving Tenten a small smile as he handed off the young man to her. "When I cut him, I made sure to break the rock with the pentagram first."

"Hn." Contemplative, impatiently so.

"That is actually a nice blade." Tenten commented, appraising the three upturned crescents as it rested on the ground. "All that rock and it's not even dull. What're you going to do with it?"

He had to smirk at the poorly veiled request in his friend's eyes. Everyone around him was just like an open book. He couldn't help but wonder if it was just him or if they really weren't aware of all the innuendo in words, all the meanings left unsaid.

"Probably keep it. I need a replacement, after all."

"What, mine not good enough for you?" She swayed her hip, accentuating the lent sickle had found its way back around her waist. "I noticed you just left it there to be stepped on and blown up." Despite the light tone, he sweated underneath the weight of that accusatory eyebrow. "Way I see it, you owe me."

"Well… I really don't need this many blades. Just one would do."

"Deal." She could make use of that high-quality metal.

"What do we do about him, though?"

They could always count on Sasuke to be the voice of reason when Neji was absent, his mildly annoyed words directed at the hobbled corpse trying to drag its way out of the crater it had been planted in.

The two other teammates looked down at the slightly pathetic remains of the Akatsuki, wondering once again if they had merely gotten lucky or if all of their members were really this easy- baring Itachi, of course.

A pained cry and the sound of a raging torrent shattering stone further on down the chasm suggested the prior, as Kakashi and Yugito were still engaged with their enemy. He was forced to conclude that the opponents he faced were disadvantaged and unprepared for his competence. This would not last forever, of that he was sure.

To that end, he knew they should try to take care of the unknown enemy as swiftly and thoroughly as possible, along with settling their current engagement. It just so happened that he had a plan to satisfy both.

"Tenten, can you get Sasuke out of here?"

"I'm perfectly capable of getting along on my own." Stubbornly the boy rejected the shoulder he was leaning on, wincing only once as he put weight on his wounded leg.

"What are you going to do?" She asked with a gaze narrowed in suspicion, ignoring the obstinate Uchiha and trying to understand what her teammate was doing rooting around with a hand in his jacket.

"Even if he really can't die, I'm going to make sure no one ever tries to put him back together again."

After making sure his friends were well on their way out of the treacherous pass, Naruto walked calmly up to Hidan who was cursing up a storm with his fingers jammed in his ears to avoid having to hear such profanity.

"Be quiet, would you?" He took out the manual earplugs just so that he could slap an inscribed note over the irate man's mouth and to pin down his remaining hand with a kunai to make sure he didn't try to remove it.

"Stay." Then he would make his way over to where Kakashi and Yugito were still dealing Kakuzu, posting another two-dozen of the same tags along his way.

Hidan's partner was indeed much more proficient than the cultist. Such a thing was to be expected with the hundred years of experience beneath his belt, and being so close to immortal himself meant that Kakuzu was wily as well as powerful. The former a trait that Naruto ascribed to himself and Ruby, and counted it as one of their major advantages. They did have another, though.

Unpredictability.

"You've proved to be of some amusement, Sharingan-no Kakashi." The one addressed breathed hard as he tried to recover from multiple Chakra-intensive techniques in a row. The landscape of the battle itself had changed, and the grey-haired shinobi could say that he was simply lucky he hadn't been caught up in any of those cataclysmic events.

"But now, honestly, it's proving a little irritating. The bounty on your head would be quite the tidy sum, but it's not worth nearly as much as invoking the Leader's wrath. So, I will ask that you surrender now and leave the Two-Tails Jinchῡriki to me." Kakashi glanced with his exposed pinwheel eye at the disheveled Kumo kunochi by his side. It was clear that he would not be able to rely on her for backup any more, as the partial transformation into the Nibi had all but drained her. "If you deliver her, I might even let you live."

Interesting. From what he'd heard thus far, Kakuzu was as greedy as Kakashi himself was perverted. Should it be taken as an honor to be considered so troublesome that he'd warranted a reprieve?

"Hmm… let me think about that."

The woman by his side sent him a betrayed look, before it soured and she hissed at him. Both of which he ignored as an unassuming finger tapped on his chin.

"I think…I'll have to pass." He smiled at Yugito (at least that is what she interpreted as his eyes squinted and the ragged mask tightened). "Doing something like that would be a failure to both the mission, as well as my comrades. If I were the kind of person to do such a thing, there's no way I could consider myself anything lower than the lowest piece of trash."

Kakuzu scoffed at the sentimentality.

"It's your funeral."

It was possible. And this narrow valley would be their tomb. Neither he nor Yugito had been able to eliminate the threat posed by the elemental masks stitched to the man's back. They might have 'killed' the man a total of three times and destroyed two of the masks letting him govern the natures of lightning and water, but all of that was for not if they could not survive the next thirty seconds.

"You have a plan?" The exhausted Jinchῡriki asked him, herself having dueled the two Akatsuki for gods knew how long before they arrived.

"I was kinda hoping you would."

If he'd a clear shot earlier, he might have been able to do something, possibly use the fabled Kamui to suck the man into another dimension. But at the moment, that kind of chakra drain would surely kill him. He wasn't even sure if they would be able to make a run for it. The chasm they were in funneled all of Kakuzu's attacks, and the next one would surely engulf whatever there was to burn in its path, turning the fragmented stone to glass in its wake.

"I wish." Standing tall against their sure demise, Yugito quit nursing her shoulder where she'd narrowly dodged the zombie-man's threads and sent him a defiant look. "Well then, what do you suggest we do?"

"Hold on."

The suggestion came not from Kakashi, but she was all to happy to follow it none the less. Even when the world stopped vibrating and her spinning head came to a crashing halt, she was only too happy to be out of the chasm and back in the sun. Someday she would get the taste of vomit out of her mouth.

"Sorry, I don't think I've ever shunshined that far before…"

That familiar voice caused her to stop her heaving and glance up. Her belly was long since empty anyway.

" _You_ again?"

"Does this mean you've dealt with the other one?"

Naruto ignored her displeasure and answered his captain's question with a cocky smile.

"Not yet."

They only noticed the roar of Kakuzu's combination technique when it was gone- dwarfed by an orogenic explosion which shook the earth under their feet and sent spiderweb cracks skittering all around like they were not standing on a plateau, but on a pillar of glass. Behind Naruto's still smiling visage they could hear immense fractures letting loose boulders down unto the crag below. After a few more seconds of landscape- alteration, the air which had been trapped underneath the falling rocks escaped upwards in a wall of suspended dust and debris, a grand finale if ever there was one.

"Don't you think that was a bit excessive?"

Naruto shook his head and Yugito found herself agreeing with the boy. There wasn't a fate too dismal for those monsters.

"That Hidan guy was immortal, the best thing to do would just be to hide him where he can't heal and no one can find him."

"Where's Sasuke and Tenten?"

"They should have made it out the front by now. Besides, I only set up charges where we were fighting, so the whole canyon shouldn't be filled in."

Over at the far ledge they heard more mountain moving and felt additional tremors cascading off the backs of the originals.

"…oops."

Despite his aloof and childish attitude, or perhaps because of it, Yugito was intrigued by her fellow Jinchῡriki. She missed the dialog when it came to the older ninja scolding him about excess force and taking care of his comrades, focus entirely devoted to figuring out this puzzle. Just how strong was this boy if he could take out an Akatsuki member without a scratch? Sure, she'd certainly helped wear him down- her, and her deceased comrades. But it was a feat nevertheless. And It was impossible to deny the iconic triple-bladed scythe jury-rigged to his back.

Something she was about to comment on when her own precognition kicked in and threw her backwards, out of the way as a torrent of fibers erupted from the ground like magma.

"I have to say, I'm surprised there isn't a bounty on you yet, boy." The oddly calm voice they had all come to dread spoke from the black silhouette within the dust cloud. An inhuman, cephalopodan shadow undulating like a sea anemone in an unseen current. "Normally I'd tell you to run along until we're ready to collect you, but you've proven yourself to be too much of a nuisance with that little stunt."

Clutching the overburdened weapon in his hands once again, Naruto interjected himself in front of his captain and fellow container, unsure of what he could honestly hope to do against such a powerful opponent but adamant about doing it none the less.

"Do you know how long it'll take me to find that moron in all this mess? You didn't even have the decency of saving the arm with the ring on it." A thick bundle of threads gestured flippantly to the other end of the scythe's tether- to which Hidan's right arm was still attached. "If I could just get the ring back I'd leave him there, but now I have to listen to the idiot whine some more. Not to mention all that time wasted when I could be collecting the bounties on those Kumo shinobi."

Naruto could feel Yugito's righteous fury behind him, funneling the anger at the callous treatment of her comrades into his own dedication.

"I'll give you the same deal I did the Copycat Ninja- give me the Nibi and I'll let you live a little bit longer. You'll get a few more months to say goodbye before we come for you." The way he shrugged his shoulders was unhurried and casual, despite his vocal reluctance to waste time. "Or, you could go ahead and try to use that weapon you can barely lift. See if you can defeat me before our backup arrives."

"You're bluffing." He had to be. Akatsuki worked in pairs, not in teams.

"That's the question, isn't it?" Kakuzu cocked his head amidst the mass of threads swallowing his torso. "I don't have a reason to, do I? Are you willing to take that chance-?"

With a mild nonplus at the teen's sudden burst of speed and dodging the ancient shinobi's first combo, Kakuzu felt himself annoyed at having an upstart ignore his sermon.

"Kids these days…"

What he didn't know wouldn't hurt him, as near as Naruto figured it. If there indeed were more S-Rank ninja on their way, he would deal with it later. Unwittingly, Kakuzu's attempt at intimidation lit a fire of urgency in the blond shinobi, spurring him to take down the nuke-nin before help could arrive.

So with a frenetic energy, Naruto rushed to the heart controlling the thick tentacles, hacking with the burdensome weapon which strained at his muscles with ever swing. Apart from his protesting body, his soul felt somehow complete swinging that ostentatious blade, and it gave him a confidence as each swing fell into its natural course.

Twirling like a baton in his hands, he batted away one thick bundle before ducking down and sliding underneath another. Only to leap upwards and draw the scythe with him, catching the diameter and plucking it like an overgrown facial hair.

"Enough."

Whether at the word or with the unrelenting harvest of his precious threads, the swelled yarn either retracted back into Kakuzu's body or else flopped off like overcooked spaghetti. The dying worms as they squirmed provided the perfect cover as stone spikes sprouted in bushels around the Kyῡbi's Jinchῡriki.

Naruto flickered from plateau to plateau, each pause ended as another drilling spike made him leave his perch. It looked like they were chasing him, but he knew he was being herded.

This was confirmed as he ran out of soft spaces to jump to and found himself in thin air Thin air suddenly turned solid as a condensed ball of it slammed into him and threw him further to the mesa's edge. Though managing to right himself in the short jaunt, he found himself suddenly coming up short as the scythe jerked in his hand- or rather it stayed put as he continued to sail.

Hangman at the end of the noose, he came to a sudden stop and plunged into the unforgiving rock. There was little time to shrug it off as Kakuzu began to reel him in by the tether's trailing end and he found himself dragged against the rough surface, not for the first time glad of his durable jacket.

The tether was made of something incredibly durable and flexible, if he didn't know any better he would have thought it was some modern alloy from Remnant. In his hands it was proving more detriment than benefit as he was reluctant to use the other end with the severed limb still attached. Something which didn't seem to bother Kakuzu.

Which meant it was just something else he'd have to overcome, he couldn't afford squeamishness.

Rather than resist the incessant tugging on his arms, he went with it, yanking himself bodily towards the culprit. Up on his feet in an instant he swung the scythe in an upwards diagonal, forcing the ex-Taki-shinobi to let go of the disembodied limb and dodge the whistling strike.

"You're not bad with that thing, boy. I can see how you managed to defeat Hidan. It's almost like you've used one before."

The man's cotton-filled mouth barked the off-hand compliment as his leg snaked out and snapped at Naruto's knee, forcing a mute-cry from his own lips.

"You could say that."

It was unknowingly one of the biggest compliments the zombie-man could have given him and precipitated a redoubling of his efforts along with an earsplitting smile.

The smile was too short-lived as his blade was caught barehanded with a casual raise of the man's hand.

"-Skill alone isn't going to be enough to defeat me, though."

The sensible thing would have been to abandon the scythe- it wasn't even technically his yet. But in that moment when the flame and wind masks stared at him with their hallow sunken eyes, he lost rationality and clung onto the handle like it was a lifeline.

The spiraling ball of Chakra he formed in his hand had been delayed by that moment of hesitation- just a little too much before he was incinerated by the swelling point-blank attack.

This was going to hurt.

"Argh!"

The Chakra fueling the attack petered out and caused him to let go of Naruto's blade- or maybe it was the other way around? Or perhaps there was some root cause to all the symptoms that he hadn't seen yet.

In any case, he did not hesitate this time to shred the nigh-immortal shinobi in front of him, triple bladed scythe making just as many passes at the man who had braced his arms uselessly to stave off the vindictive strikes.

He kicked the pile of severed limbs held on by shoestrings far away, wary of the man's regenerative capabilities and himself needing to catch a breath. Once cleared, the body revealed a welcome sight.

"Neji!"

The boy simply bowed his head- no words wasted in needless banter as his all-seeing eyes tracked the legendary shinobi as he struggled to put himself back together.

"More of you? You're lucky I'm on another mission, Hyῡga. Those eyes of yours would fetch a pretty penny… maybe even strike a deal with Kumo?" Kakuzu slowly regained his footing, detached arms being slurped up by the threads within the man's very body. "Still, that just cost me another heart. I suppose I'd need a replacement-"

"Chidori!"

The crackling sound was just a drone as the fist sparking with electricity plowed through the man's puzzle-piece chest, silencing whatever menace had been on his sewn-shut lips.

"Better make that two."

"Are you offering, Copy-Cat?"

They were not going to give the man a chance to make good on those threats. Just when the remaining masks on his back started to swivel into position, they were cut short literally as Naruto in one mighty swing decapitated them and got halfway to doing so with the man himself, head held on by a flapping piece of flesh.

"You're really starting to piss me off…"

"Take up your beef with her."

Suddenly both Naruto and Kakashi were no longer near him and Kakuzu found himself alone with his too-large, flickering, shadow.

"Nice kitty…"

An odd thing to hear fire sound so 'wet', but there was no other way to describe the salivating maw of the giant feline composed of a blue-hot inferno chomping down on what remained of the Akatsuki member, masticating him into nothing but a molten mush before swallowing his very foul-tasting essence.

Only able to watch the transformed Yugito gorge herself on the then helpless Kakuzu for so long, Naruto turned to his recently arrived friend, letting the strain finally get to him and resting his weight on the staff in front of him.

"Thanks for the quick save. But what about the others? And also, aren't you worried about…" He shot a look at the demon cat with two tails flicking contentedly behind it, that would only be occupied with its treat for so long.

"More Kumo Shinobi arrived, so I switched with Sasuke." Neji shot a narrowed look at the oddly plebian-looking creature which was now licking the azure flames on its paw unperturbedly. "At least there's only one to deal with over here."

In the moment Naruto nodded, said Kumo kunochi reverted back to her human form, the flames dancing off into the early afternoon sun and leaving behind a bedraggled woman who, fittingly, looked like something the cat dragged in.

It wasn't a pun, but Naruto was still glad Ruby couldn't hear that personal thought.

With as much dignity and grace as her weary body could muster, Yugito plodded her way over to him, sparing only a slight flickering glance at his stern teammate who regarded her with arms crossed defensively. It was only then that he noticed the equally wrung-out Kakashi take up his other side silently, though he too was more bark than bight right then.

There was palpable tension in the stare-down, and Naruto gut-wrenchingly wondered if she was considering finishing what her village had started almost a decade ago.

"Your comrades are here to collect you." Surprisingly it was Neji who delivered the first word, breaking the impasse that perhaps he had only imagined. "It'd be best to rejoin them before Sasuke gets bored with toying with them."

The Two-Tails Jinchῡriki seemed to take offense at having someone speak ill of her comrades, and whether it was true or not boded ill for their relations.

It was easy to understand and sympathize. After all, they had to wade through the field of corpses before finding her, and Naruto was just about to speak in this effect when she turned to him abruptly.

"That scythe." Her icy words betrayed by a trembling hand gripping the handle of her battered ninjato. "I'm not leaving without it."

Out of all the things that could have become an issue, this one was totally unexpected and part of the reason he never planned ahead. Though perhaps he should have at least though about his words before they came out of his mouth, because it was pretty obvious that it wasn't the ideal thing to say in that situation.

"No. You can't have it."

"That blade slew twenty of my comrades," no one was arguing the reality of Hidan reaping the shinobi, likely tortured a number of them before he mercilessly ended their lives. But it was a symbol of his vile nature, his arrogance and his prowess. "Why shouldn't I get it?"

"From what I understand, it was Naruto who defeated its previous owner," The half-step forward that Neji took might as well have been a fist raised to her face. "by all rights it should be his to do with what he wants."

The words were calm and collected- on both sides. The argument, seemingly a petty squabble conducting poisonous undercurrents that could kill any sort of fecund relationship that their actions had sewed.

Naruto let the cold war that he precipitated pass him by as he sought out the crux of the conflict. Why was the scythe so important to her? She claimed it was because it was a symbol of their enemy's defeat- an enemy that had been in all truth seeking her, and her alone. They were interlopers in this affair, as they knew they would be seen.

It was silly. It was insane. But then again, that seemed to be a common thread those days.

Apart from that, it was a symbol of her guilt. She bore far more gashes in her clothing than there were wounds to show and carried herself far more wearisomely than the short fight had suggested. As if she'd been fighting for days, and not hours.

The wounds she bore were internal, the outsides healed but the breach of her defenses still festering somewhere within, and not something the Nibi could heal for her.

The Akatsuki had frightened her, made the invincible woman feel exposed, and this was her psyche seeking some sort of resolution. It was not the right way to deal with it, though. Naruto knew, because he'd had that same rude awakening not long ago. He'd long since learned to live with the fear.

Maybe it was just his greed leading him, but he knew what he was talking about.

"Yugito-san."

A single blow would have felled her right then, but even still her obstinance was ready to start another fight with her supposed saviors over a piece of metal with true value only left to him. His subdued voice ended things before it began, though.

"You don't want this thing." Shrugging the sullied blade wantonly. "You don't need a trophy to constantly reminded of your hatred. Just let it go. I promise it'll go to good use."

To him, it was so much more. Maybe fate finally giving him something overdue. He would use it to protect his precious people, including her, if she would allow it.

An angry bark was on her lips, but it came out as a pitiful mewl when he'd ripped off that bandage and let the wound cleanse.

"It was… it was just supposed to be… a routine mission. A cakewalk." But someone had turned that perfect life upside down right in her face. Naruto could understand that. "What did- what then did they die for?! I need something!"

One body was not enough to sate her hunger for revenge, he knew this.

What he could never know was how her life had compared to his, so alike and yet so different. One slip, and it could have been Neji's face, Sasuke's, Tenten's, Yamato's, any number of his friend's visages on those lifeless corpses. The fact that it wasn't could be attributed to fate, or sheer dumb luck. Which was it in the end that stuck him with the 9th Bijῡ? Which was it that stuck him with Ruby?

"You still have your life, don't you?" Naruto's words flowed from Neji's mouth. "I think that your comrades would be happy with that. Honor them by living it the best you can."

It was a statement derived from experience, the same thing which glinted in a wise man's eyes and marked the rings on a tree. It was a hard-earned truth which allowed Neji to say that. And Yugito witnessed him, drying her tears and composing herself in front of these strangers who had done so much for her.

"Go home, Yugito." Anything added onto that felt unnecessary, but Naruto said it anyway. "You'll have an advantage now, knowing that they're after you. But don't hesitate to seek out help. I'll be there if I can." He felt pathetic that he couldn't promise anything, but the woman had her own comrades, clearly. People that were important to her, as did he.

"You're right." She said to both of them. "You've earned that blade. And more."

A simple nod sufficed for the unsaid thanks as the nervous retrieval team from Kumo approached, trailing a good distance behind Sasuke who deigned escort them. With that simple gesture, they knew they had her gratitude, something far more valuable than a simple trinket.

The rest of the mission would end with a rather anticlimactic diminuendo. Forces of the détente dispersed hurriedly to the seven winds.

It struck them as oddly wanting- or perhaps simply odd. Especially with the musclebound swordsman who greeted both parties with undue enthusiasm and lyrical speech. Naruto should have known him, or at least marked him as important. Not only did the dark-skinned Kumo-nin acknowledge Sasuke with a significant nod, but there was a certain chill within himself as well.

But that sensation he should have recognized was ignored. Instead, he was consumed by that searching look on the Yugito's visage which continued up until her form was swallowed into the fold of black and white-clad bodies. What did that lingering look signify, and what sort of meaning was conveyed in the words left unsaid?

It was a never-ending struggle to read in between the lines.


	21. Synecdoche

**One more filler chapter to slog through (Or is it?). I'm giddy in anticipation for the ones upcoming, though.**

 **And once again, you guys rock! (and mineral).**

* * *

Today would be a good day.

Ruby was in a good mood, somewhat inexplicably. To those who would know the facts and not the girl would say that she was excited for her partner in crime, either because of the magnificent new weapon he got or because of the successful mission that went with it.

To those who knew the girl and not the circumstance would say that it was simply her good nature finally shining through.

And to those who knew both the girl and the events leading up to this morning, it would be worrisome. They would question if it was a blissful smile of content, or a manifestation of depravity. Was this a healthy coping, or an omen of things to come?

But the number of people who knew Ruby Rose- truly knew the girl behind the flesh and blood doll she inhabited could be counted with a unicorn's hoof.

For everyone else, she was who she appeared to be. Even if some suspected more. What everyone could agree on was that it was a welcome change of pace.

The girl herself was indeed Zen with the world as it stood. Things were finally looking up, or rather, they were finally seeing things on an even playing field instead of from that dismal gutter which was their safe spot for so long.

Naruto- her partner in every sense of the word and some that hadn't been coined yet- was making substantial progress in his personal endeavors. And so was she. It seemed like only a matter of time before she could welcome him with open arms to her humble existence, and all she had to do was get it ready for his arrival.

There was a confidence that couldn't quite be explained. A promise, which bordered on a threat.

And that was worrying in an unknown way.

She was happy that there seemed to be no more doubt surrounding their communication. Once, words seemed lacking, letters not enough to express the entirety of what needed to be said. Now they spoke through action so there could be nothing lost in translation. With silence she'd shut him out, and with silence she welcomed him back.

But what would become of those words left unsaid? What life would flourish in the moments between moments? And what things go on in the dark where no one is there to see?

"So, what's the plan, O-Fearless Leader?"

Ruby stopped cold in her half-skipping gait, the three who were following bunching up behind the sudden roadblock.

"No, not fearless."

"What?"

"Not without fear, no. Fear is something we must always keep in mind, embrace. Fear reminds us that we are still alive, that we are sane."

The three teenagers took this darkly profound statement with visible disquiet, staring at their companion like she was a sage- an eccentric, mountain-dwelling recluse.

"Anyway-!" Ruby spun around and blindsided her comrades with a 180˚ turn. "I though that we'd finally take JNPR up on their offer for a group-training session. Today's the day they usually get together outside of class to go over team tactics out at the sports field across from the infirmary."

"How did you-"

"Since we haven't really done much team-building exercises since the beginning of the semester, I figured we'd want to spend some more time there after they were done, so I packed us lunches!"

Team RWBY had so many questions. Not the least of which was Weiss's, as she wondered just how Ruby had known when and where the other team held their practice when the topic had not come up. But most were just wondering where the girl got her everlasting energy from- or perhaps more specifically questioning whether they had truly seen that glimpse of solemnity, or if it had all just been a hallucination.

"Ruby… where did you learn how to cook?"

That was another question. Unfortunately, she couldn't exactly tell them that Yamato-sensei had drilled in healthy eating habits with carrot and stick (the carrot for eating, the stick for- well, you know).

"It's nothing special… really."

It wasn't. But it looked like it was with the perfectly-sized portions wrapped up neatly in banana leaves. The three held their parcels like Faberge eggs, or in Weiss's case like it was a ticking time-bomb until Blake took a cautionary sniff of the bundle she was handed.

"Fish. I'm good with it."

"Fish?"

"I made yours with kombu and nato- I mean, veggies, Weiss." The girl still held it like it was a crying baby at arm's length as she turned to her sister. "And yours is pork, Yang." To which she received an enthusiastic thumbs-up.

"Alright! Judging by the weight here, I'm thinking we could go on all day."

"Speak for yourself…"

"Come on, Ice-Queen. Where's your team spirit?"

The white-haired girl glared at Blake who was looking as smug as a cat with a mouse caught by the tail, coveting her bento and holding it close to her chest.

"Fine…" She was sure she'd regret it later.

Ruby was hoping she wouldn't.

* * *

"Hello!"

Already set to begin their regime, the P of JNPR found it hard to halt the prepared strike from impacting the newcomer who appeared suddenly at her elbow. The mortification of murdering a fellow student was short-lived, however. For after her clamped-shut eyes reopened in disbelief, the image of the girl impaled on her blade had removed itself to stand unharmed just to the side.

"Sorry!" The apology being almost as reflexive as the strike, and both being laughed off by the girl with one hand rubbing the back of her head in chagrin.

"Whoops! That's my bad. Sorry Pyrrha!"

Said redhead blinked in wonderment after her mind had replayed the split-second encounter over, but quickly shrugged it off as just another eccentricity of the younger woman.

"That's alright, Ruby." Stepping out of her defensive stance and turning around to face the latest arrival, the rest of her team heaving a sigh of mixed relief and exasperation at the delay. "What're you doing here, though?"

"Well," She had to make a conscious effort to restrain her hand's ministrations by clasping it behind her back. "I thought, well, you know, that me and my team might finally take you up on your offer to train together…"

"That's wonderful!" Pyrrha cheered as two of her teammates came up behind, flanking her to see what all the commotion was about. "Where's the rest of your team, though?"

Ruby blinked as if considering this question for the first time before a weary shout supplied the answer for her.

"Hey peeps!" The blonde called from the far side of the clearing, trying to look less out of breath than she was. "What's-*phew*- what's up?" Holding it together better than the other two who were struggling between staring at the ground and glaring at their captain for taking off so suddenly without them.

Kicking her feet at the ground under the scathing looks, Ruby tried her best to look apologetic. Mentally reprimanding herself to cement this as a lesson that she had to be more considerate to her teammates, not letting her anxiousness get the better of her.

Normally this would not have escaped her mind. To herself as to Naruto, comrades were held in the highest regard. But considering the giant leap she was about to take, that normal sense of duty took a back seat in comparison.

"So… do you think it would still be alright?" The question was delivered to the towering redhead, but Ruby's gaze shot past her to the last member of JNPR to approach the central gathering.

"Of course…" The woman began to respond before realizing where the girl's gaze was directed and turning to face her leader. "I mean, if you think that it'd be a good idea, Jaune."

The whole field seemed to wait for the transparent blond to answer, his gaze flitting between his teammate and the formerly unapproachable pubescent.

"Yeah…sure."

Jaune was not a prideful person. He'd fully admit that for some reason the pint-sized girl scared the daylights out of him, starting on that first day when she'd so coldly stared through him like he hadn't even been there. Denied his existence with a single word. Her weapon of choice didn't help, either. In fact, she was probably even _scarier_ now after the way she'd decimated team CRDL- twice.

"Sounds like fun."

At the same time, he was not one to hold the actions against her. Girls had rejected him far more harshly in the past, and she even looked like she was ready to make amends for it. Even if her actions had resulted in Cardin taking out his frustrations on him, the only one he could blame there was the bully himself. Chances were even good that if she hung out with JNPR more often, he might absorb some of her tenaciousness through her otherwise radiant personality.

"Alright. Well, then, why don't we start with a team spar? Four against four, just to warm up and see where we're all at?"

"Sounds like a plan." Ruby offered a strained smile which he was nonetheless grateful for, before looking back as she heard a ragged wheeze come from one of her team. "Just… maybe a few minutes to stretch before?"

* * *

As she'd anticipated, JNPR's teamwork was far more polished than their own. But this would be rectified soon enough after lunch. When the other team would break for the day, they would continue to hammer away at the issues, whittle away the rough edges that had persisted since they were mashed together on day one.

It wouldn't be finished in a single afternoon of work, though. There were glaring holes which threatened the structure of her team which needed to be filled in before it was too late.

"Aren't you going to take a break?"

After casting aside the biodegradable wrapping of her hastily scarfed lunch and letting it digest with a few light exercises, Ruby paused in the midst of a flowing kata to regard the approach.

"I already finished eating, and I'm not that tired." She confessed, trying simply to state it and not sound arrogant.

It wasn't a bother with this woman, for Pyrrha could empathize with the listlessness which came with stamina. While a wonder to see in one so young and frail-looking, she could see that Ruby was telling the truth. Not that she needed any more evidence after the handful of matches she'd witnessed over the past few weeks, and the determination shown in the morning matchups.

"Same. In that case, perhaps you wouldn't mind a one-on-one spar?"

Wouldn't mind was a gross understatement. This was something she'd been waiting for ever since finding out about Pyrrha's skill, and it was almost like a wet-dream come true.

She wanted to blame that analogy on outside influences, her sister and Naruto included. But the truth remained that it was the most appropriate description of the way she felt about it. There was a battle lust which hadn't been there before. At first being acceptable, she had been starved of that adrenaline rush for so long. But with weeks of spars and the desire not being sated, and after what happened with CRDL last night… she was no longer so sure it was normal. She was no longer sure it was healthy.

"I'd love to."

There were tingles up her spine that had nothing to do with the electric shouts of the exuberant Nora, and a fire in her gut that was separate from the inflammatory egging of her sister as the two took the field. There was no mind paid to the fact that they were becoming a spectacle, only focus on each other as they prepared to become one in the rush of battle.

"Rules?" Pyrrha asked, twirling her sword with her wrist and settling into a casual stance.

"Don't die."

Where the words had come from, she'd no idea. To the Athenian warrior it was even more of a surprise, in pace with the sudden blitz which almost caught her off-guard with its lack of preamble. The crescent blade sunk deep into her guard, driving her feet into the ground which gave way underneath. Not to be deterred, she replied with equal intensity, throwing off the meteoric weight on her shield and thrusting her blade forward.

Only to have the image of the girl fade away, not dissimilar to earlier that morning. Pyrrha swept her foot out to block low, intercepting the low slash aimed at throwing her off-balance and blunting her blade with a hasty wick-tick at either side of Ruby's head which the girl deflected with a single twirl of her weapon.

The speed was not abnormal, nor was it unexpected. Unlike Pyrrha's Semblance, Ruby in no way disguised her singular aptitude during their classroom spars.

Though never had she flaunted it so blatantly. Ruby was the type of fighter to use superior composure and technique to defeat her opponents. With perhaps the occasional slip of her true strength when a student got uppity and challenged her rightfulness at the head of the class.

Technically Pyrrha still held that title, but she knew it was a paper crown. Glynda simply called upon the champion more than the prodigy for some unfathomable reason, and as such Pyrrha had more wins under her belt. Neither had lost, so this was the only true way to settle the question, and Pyrrha felt that she was every bit as eager to settle things as Ruby.

It was hard to admit that she may have been wrong about that.

Ruby backed off enough that Pyrrha felt compelled to use her rifle, taking fire with pinpoint accuracy at a target which danced around the rounds like they were hillbilly potshots, occasionally reaching out to snatch a few out of the air for show.

The Amazonian found herself growling at the ineffectualness of her weapon and quickly morphed it into its spear form. Loosing it with an unintended hint of her magnetic Semblance, the javelin was flung almost as fast as her bullets, angling improbably in air to intercept Ruby as she made to affect another casual dodge.

Only when eyes widened to drink in the sight of the pointed tip imbedding itself into the girl's gut did Pyrrha begin to get an inkling of her actions.

Regret never arrived. It was interrupted by screaming instinct bending her body backwards to bock the devastating downward swing with her shield, cartwheeling over to right herself and reflecting another howling blow from the massive scythe. She snagged the next one head on, thrusting the smaller girl backwards with raw power and forcing her way into Ruby's guard where she landed a ferocious kick to her gut with those pointed heels. The small body went careening backwards across the field.

"*Phew*! Ho boy! That was a good one!"

Standing up, the girl complimented with one hand rubbing her stomach where a hole had manifested in her corset. Despite the botherless air Ruby was putting on, Pyrrha was about to apologize for her excessive force before the girl continued.

"I'm really surprised how quick you caught on to that little trick. How many times have you seen it now? Two, three times?"

"Four, actually." Pyrrha admitted with a slight shrug, guardedly backing up towards her primary weapon. "You used it earlier this morning."

The slightly disquieting grin on Ruby's face was broken up by blinks erasing it like stones thrown in a river.

"I did?" Then she laughed, rubbing the back of her head with tongue pinched between her lips. "I don't really remember! I guess I must be more out-of-it than I thought!"

This time the frankness brought a frown to the redhead. It was long since known that Ruby was a tad aloof, but that trait was not extended to the battlegrounds. She'd always been acutely observant of every fight, no matter how trivial. Pyrrha found it hard to believe, but by the same token it was unlike the girl to be deceptive.

"So tell me, is that another natural part of your Semblance, or something you came up with on your own?"

She pushed aside the bleating doubts for the very real admiration held for her fellow student. It wasn't common for Semblances to have multiple functions. But ones like her own could be put to creative uses only at the limit of the user's ingenuity and determination.

"Not telling!" Ruby jibed, pulling down her eyelid in childish impudence. "We all have some abilities we want to keep secret… right?"

Catching herself on her back heel, Pyrrha felt a twinge of something unknown run up her spine with the offhand statement. Had she ever shown her polarity during a match? Even if she'd used it, it was always carefully hidden within her own raw strength. Had Ruby really figured it out based on just a few fleeting moments? Or was she simply bluffing?

It must have been the latter. After all, Pyrrha had made it a show of **not** flaunting it. But the doubt was already there, and that was enough.

"Although, I'm going to try my best to make _you_ use everything you have up your sleeve."

With that promise stated the break was over and the battle resumed.

In a single backwards bound Pyrrha was reunited with her weapon, seamlessly flicking it into its sword form as she was beset by another round of hacking strikes that made her impenetrable shield creak. But she gave as good as she received, lashing out with snapping reposts which were dodged or deflected by that fluid movement bundled within the tiny package.

Ruby was like a condensed whirlpool of destruction, ravishing everything in her path. And Pyrrha was caught up in that riptide, feeding into the overbearing gale with an upwelling of her own pride and prowess. Together they were the perfect storm, razing the carefully manicured training ground and encouraging their teams to take a step back, lest they get caught up in the wanton destruction.

"This is AWESOME!"

Ren and Jaune could only nod in affirmation to their excitable teammate's declaration. It was such in the classical sense of the word, leaving the six observers in state of awe in which they could only remark on the vast difference between their own abilities and the ones on display.

Blake had stopped waving her serialized team RWBY banner and even Yang was mute, perched on the edge of her seat with half-eaten lunches long since forgotten. Ruby's partner was torn, however. Satisfied with her captain's capabilities, but wondering how the world have been so blind to someone with such aptitude. She was now more anxious than ever to find out just what those mysterious reports said.

A grasscutter swing whistled underneath Pyrrha's defense, so unexpected that she had no chance to take advantage of the girl's exposed guard. The only option was to hop over it, trapping herself in the air as the low-blow turned into a headstand and Ruby's booted feet shot out to knock her even higher.

The moment her feet left the ground outside of her own volition, Pyrrha knew she was in trouble. The girl's Semblance allowed her to move faster than the acceleration of gravity could pull her down, essentially giving her the ability to fly. There was no reasonable way for her to keep up.

Not that Ruby would give her the chance. Occupied at all times by the red bullet snaking around and battering her about the air like a pinball.

Someone was supposed to be monitoring their respective Aura levels to make sure that the friendly spar didn't accidently turn deadly. With the way the girl was leaning on her speed Semblance, she should have used up her reserves by now. But it didn't look like she had any intention of stopping, so Pyrrha would have to take that matter into her own hands.

Pirouetting in place, she lashed out with the short sword before Ruby's transient form could impact her again, honing her Semblance onto the metal of _Crescent Rose_. The girl stopped dead, and Pyrrha used this moment of genuine surprise to hook her blade around her opponent's haft and hurl her bodily at the ground.

The jerk being so sudden and vicious, Ruby was powerless to stop herself from being thrown downwards. And even once her boots sunk deep into the chewed-up ground underneath, she could not reverse her momentum so easily. Thus, she was stuck there as Pyrrha descended with a gravity-imbued overhand strike which buckled her knees and forced both of her arms to strain underneath the burden of her weapon.

Teeth clenched so that she tasted iron, silver eyes wavering in and out of focus as she bore up underneath the overbearing of a stronger adversary. Adrenaline was no longer enough to keep this up, and there was something vouching for itself deep within her to take its place.

But she wouldn't let it, this was her life, her fight, and even if Naruto was knocking she would bar the door.

Not that she had the energy left to do so, anyway. She'd expended too much early on, hoping to overtake the more experienced huntress quickly in the fight. Pyrrha stooping to using her polarity was not something she honestly anticipated. The only option was to go on the defensive and try to hold out until a strategy presented itself. But first she had to get out of this predicament.

From her knees she dropped the short distance to the ground, imposing her legs between herself and the sword of Damocles and breaking the deadlock. Summersaulting backwards and trying to put some distance between the two, she was not expecting the tables to be so suddenly turned as Pyrrha followed her with dogged tenacity.

The match hinged on her back foot now, sword relentlessly smashing at her defenses while she struggled to get a strike in edgewise. She could no longer count on her after-image to fool the redhead. Now with her polarity in full swing, she could track the movements using the instantaneous pull of magnetism and not rely on the faulty signals traveling from the eye to the brain.

In her newfound desperation it never occurred to her that Pyrrha was every bit as exhausted as she, running off of fumes dredged up from months of silent stoking of the embers. Had she used her Semblance from the beginning, things might have been different. But she'd already expended too much of her Aura defending against the strikes Ruby managed to sneak in.

Both would have to finish it quickly.

Point-blank Ruby blasted a single gravity-round from her sniper, shot going wild but the sound and flash enough to distract the berserker redhead and give her some breathing room. She skidded to a halt with scythe poised behind her, breathing heavy and hopes banked on the next exchange which would have to be the last. Her throat burned, and her chest heaved, she had never been run so ragged.

She had never felt so alive!

One finger on the trigger and another on the bolt she shot and racked three rounds in such quick succession that it sounded like a machinegun, accelerating her towards Pyrrha at speeds lapping the sound barrier many times over.

Then she used her Semblance.

It was like Pyrrha was standing still as _Crescent Rose_ descended. It wouldn't have mattered if the woman's shield was up for she would have cleaved through it like butter. The thoughts in her head were running so rampant around that sole desire for victory, there was no way concern for her comrade could reach her conscious mind. The guillotine descended.

And stopped cold.

It was unfathomable, it was grating, it was humiliating. It was an affront to her blood sweat and tears which had gotten her to this point when Pyrrha froze her final swing with but a careless finger, shield cast aside so that she could point that accusing digit at her heart. Such an easy dismissal of her hard work, that short-sword cocking back mockingly slow to deliver the finishing blow.

No, this shouldn't be happening.

At apex tension her arm knocked like an arrow ready to be released.

No, it wasn't fair.

Fingers of fate loosed the blade and it shot towards her breast, her hands still tied to her scythe suspended above their heads.

No, she rejected the inevitability, the helplessness that she swore to never feel again.

Piercing like a needle through space and time, the point called out to her.

" **NO!"**

The ground crumbled beneath her feet as radioactive energy erupted from every pore, halting the sword like her own had been, locked in time. The force which bound her to stillness weakened, shattered under a resistance it had never encountered before. _Crescent Rose_ completed its downward swing, a semicircle imprinted on the retinas of all watching as the arena lit up with a blinding crimson light.

Pyrrha was sent tumbling back, skipping off the ground like a stone and slamming into the woods not far off. The sturdy tree trunk caving underneath her back and her silent scream rustling the spectating leaves.

Gasping for air. Tasting dirt. Moving because her body ordered her to, telling her to check and see that she wasn't paralyzed. Pyrrha scraped herself off the ground, forcing her chin up to see the shadow which now blotted the sun.

A Cheshire smile loomed over her, bone white mouth of teeth imposed on a shade of malicious darkness. She and the specter were alone in that day suddenly turned crimson sunset, the crescent moon already woxen high into night. It leered at her from where it hung in the starless sky, teasing her with scant moments to live before it descended to smite her.

She was going to die.

"Ruby!"

The call pierced through the veil, shattered that mirror world and she blinked as the shards fell from her eyes like sand.

The petit scythe-wielder stood over her with a blank expression, as if she was just made aware of where she was, what she was doing, and who was calling the shots.

 _Crescent Rose_ slipped from her grip and pinwheeled to the ground, imbedding deep behind the two of them as Ruby dropped to her knees, groping for her friend in blind desperation.

"Pyrrha?! Pyrrha?! Are you alright?! I'm so sorry!"

The redhead chuckled absently as she accepted the arm which latched on to her own, too overcome with the roller-coaster ride to do anything else but marvel. There would be time to think about it though, as they got a spatula to pry her off the ground and she spent the rest of the afternoon- make that week, licking her wounds.

"It's alright. I'm alright, I think…"

She felt the gentle touch as Ren lay a concerned hand on her back, breathing a sigh of relief at knowing she still had sensation in the lower part of her body.

"It's bruised, possibly some cracks. But nothing that Aura and a good bit of rest won't cure." Came the novice diagnosis. Followed up swiftly by the qualification that he was not a medic, and that someone else should go get the school's nurse.

"I'm **so** sorry!" Ruby reiterated. "I promise that I'll take notes for you- no! I'll do your homework while you're recovering!"

As tempting as this was, Pyrrha was not one to take advantage of a guilty conscious such as this. She waved the younger girl off dismissively, wincing as she discovered a previously unknown pain in her shoulder. In fact, her entire front chose then to let her know that it was not to be ignored, simply hadn't had attention yet due to the pressing matter of her back.

"It's my fault." The now ex-champion insisted. "I escalated it and let things get out of hand. I'm sorry." Offering a pathetically apologetic smile to the girl crouched over her who was all but inconsolable.

"But-"

"Just what is going on here?"

It was a familiar rhetorical question. They were sure the woman had been watching them the entire time using her squadron of drones roaming the airspace around the school. Otherwise, there was no way she could have caught on to them so quickly. Two of the school's immaculately uniformed medical staff flanked her determined stride, adding to the assumption.

"Oh boy…"

"Ms. Goodwitch-Ah!"

Trying to stand up and intercept her instructor was perhaps not the best idea on Pyrrha's part, as the painful spasm caused her arms to buckle and taste another mouthful of dirt. It also provided further ammunition for the towering blonde woman as she loomed down accusingly at the gaggle of students who knew they were in untold amounts of trouble, regardless of their guilt.

"Do not try to move, Ms. Nikos."

Goodwitch admonished the sheepish fighter who mumbled her acceptance to the earth. She then turned her scathing green eyes to her usual scapegoat, aiming what was sure to be an excoriating diatribe at the young girl on the virtues of precaution and subtlety.

"It's my fault." Two mouths opened wide to speak but were beaten by Yang stepping in front of her sister and the rest. "As the unofficial referee I should have been watching their Aura levels. I let myself become distracted and this was the result."

While this was technically true, it had gone unspoken that it applied only to the last three-on-three spar they had before lunch, in which both blondes on each side had sat on the sidelines. Ruby was about to point this out, picking up where she left off to confess her irresponsible behavior when she was interrupted yet again.

"No, Ms. Goodwitch, it's my fault." Despite the cringe on her face and the less-than dignified position of being shuffled onto a stretcher, Pyrrha's assertive attitude was hard to argue with. "I was the one who approached Ruby for the spar, and as such, it was my negligence in setting ground rules which resulted in this. Furthermore, as the one with vastly more experience in a tournament setting, it should have been my responsibility to make sure the match was conducted in an orderly manner." She sent the still agape Ruby a weak smile as the female nurse busied herself with removing some of Pyrrha's layers to inspect the damage. "I have no one to blame but myself."

Convolutedly, they had never thought to confront Glynda with cold, hard logic before. Realizing this now was a little embarrassing, but no less useful in stopping whatever remarks were tottering on her lips and making that admonishing finger as potent as a wet noodle.

"Well… that being said, I have repeatedly reminded Ms. Rose about her recklessness during combat. She needs to learn how to better control her actions."

"I agree." Tired of being preempted by well-meaning comrades, Ruby spoke up for herself at long last. "I let the pace of the fight lead me instead of the other way around. That kind of mistake can cost someone their lives in a real-life scenario." Intertwined fingers clenched until they bled, but she tucked them close into her skirt so that the color matched seamlessly. "It almost did here. I have no excuse for it, and I will accept any punishment you deem necessary."

There was no excuse. There wasn't even an explanation to justify what had happened. Why had she been so determined to win? What had caused her to continue the fight when it had been obvious it was long over?

It wasn't like this was the first time she had felt such… urges. She had almost pulled the trigger on Cardin in class and had barely restrained the desire to rend him from head to toe shortly after. It was inconceivable that she should feel similarly when fighting with Pyrrha. Kind, gentle, perfect Pyrrha.

"Don't let it happen again."

With head still bowed they missed the flash of surprise across her face. Had she spaced out during her scolding? Was she really getting off without a punishment? Did she deserve to?

"Ms. Rose."

"Yes!"

As if reading her thoughts, Glynda turned back to her from appraising the injured warrior who was uncomfortable with all the doting she received from her teammates.

"Come see me later in my office. We need to have a talk."

"Yes."

Seeing that her punishment had only been postponed was both relieving and nerve-wracking. At the very least it allowed her to focus her attention on the here and now.

"Pyrrha, I am so, so sorry." She approached the stretcher held between the two orderlies cautiously, afraid to incite the Amazon's teammates who might not want her anywhere near the woman after what had happened.

"Don't worry about it." Smiling carelessly, Pyrrha managed to prop herself up on an elbow and send the girl a reassuring smile. "This is nothing. You should have seen me after my first tournament, I could barely get out of bed for a week. I'm already feeling better. See?"

"That's probably because we hooked you up with enough tranquilizers to make a Beowulf into a lapdog." One of the orderlies muttered, trying to hurry the party along.

"Ren, I never noticed, but your hair is so prettyyyyyy…. It's smooth. How do you get it so smooth? I wish I could get my hair that smooth, smooooth, smooooooooth. Weird. Like Jazz. Do you know how to play the sax, Ren? Ren?"

"Okay, I think that's enough." Said boy stepped away from his teammate who was busily groping at his cascading hair while trying to be herded by the nurses. He leaned over to Ruby whispering conspiratorially as Nora was having a field day with the 'new and improved' Pyrrha, and Janue was trying to keep the redhead's hands from wandering any more than necessary. "Actually Ruby, if you could take an extra set of notes that would be much appreciated. I'm already busy enough making one for Nora, and Jaune's handwriting… well, frankly it's atrocious."

The girl nodded seriously and whispered back.

"Is that okay, though? Aren't you… I don't know. Aren't you angry with me?"

The frankness and imperturbability that had been with him since the day he approached her had not waned in the interim. Ren looked at her with little more than a half-lidded gaze as he simply questioned.

"No. Why should I be?" She was plenty upset with herself, it only stood to reason that he would be. "Pyrrha is tough. She'll be back on her feet in no time. Probably asking for a rematch if what I've come to learn about her holds. If anything, I'd be more worried for you."

That was for sure. What was going on with her? Had she really abandoned her sanity somewhere along the line, and if so, where had she left it?

"Okay." She relented. "I'll have to try twice as hard for both of us!"

That elicited a smile of confidence from the male who sent a short wave to the other three before retreating to his team. Disappearing around the bend with the small entourage, just catching the tail end of a loud conversation with his ginger-haired teammate.

"How **do** you get your hair so silky-smooth anyway? I thought we used the same shampoo, right, Ren…?"

"Well, I think that's all for today." Weiss spoke up for her otherwise morose team, still not managing to stir any of them from where they were rooted in the ground. She sighed to an empty audience.

Ruby was plucked from her thoughts when her sister threw a strong arm around her shoulders and squeezed her into her bosom. She looked up to see a faraway look in those lilac eyes, turning towards her eventually with a regard more deep and poignant than she had ever believed possible.

"Come on Champ. Let's go home."

* * *

Today… had been a day. Just like things had been things, and ideas a continually shifting concept.

Maybe tomorrow would be better. Maybe it would be worse. The confidence that she had that morning had ebbed somewhat, making her wonder if she ought to reach out to the person who knew her best. Where words failed to describe, he might know what was going on with her. The knowledge that she could turn to him in times of need lessened the fear surrounding the unknown.

Covers pulled well up over her head, she swept a hand underneath her pillow and pulled out a familiar green notebook. Different, though, from the one she had known. A sequel, as it were. Not a replacement.

What to write? It had been so long since they had used words… were they even still necessary? He had seen what had happened, felt the opera of sensation playing across her body during the spar's duration. Or had he? It might have all been her imagination, her flawed and malleable mind dreaming up emotions to hoodwink her into overlooking a declining sanity. It was worth telling him how she felt, at least.

But as she cracked open that still-new spine to the first blank page, she found it filled. Her heart caught in her throat as she recognized the boxy scrawl that was different than her own but still familiar.

 _Dear Ruby,_

 _Not long ago you said that there were things you couldn't trust me with. I know that writing this note in your diary probably doesn't help with that, but I'm not trying to deny it any more. I just want you to know that I understand, and I agree that I haven't been the most understanding sister. I thought that with you here again, things could go back to normal. But now I realize they can't. Our lives were probably never 'normal' to begin with anyway, huh?_

 _Coming here, coming to Beacon has forced me to change my mind on what that word means to me. It has made me reevaluate what's important. It's tough to admit, but being normal rates pretty low on that list._

 _What's important to me is you, Ruby. Dad and Qrow too. Yes, I still love them even despite what they did, or didn't do to you. But you can blame me for that. You can resent me for loving them as I do you, but know that it won't change how I feel. How can I hate them and not hate myself? I can just try to make up for those mistakes, try to patch things over with you and maybe someday help you do the same with them._

 _You have more people who are dear to you now, too, that I can't compete with. Eventually you might not need me anymore, and I must accept that. Our teammates, they might still be a little bit strangers but I can already feel that they hold an important place in your heart. They might be able to understand you better than I ever could, in time._

 _I won't- I can't pretend anymore to say that I know you. Believe me when I say that I'm trying, though. I want to understand what it's been like to be you, what we- what I have made you go through. I want to see the world through your eyes, that world that must have been so beautiful and rich to create such a wonderful person. Someday, maybe, we can both try to bring that person back to the light, so that the whole world might be made equally beautiful._

 _Forever your sister,_

 _Yang_

 _P.S. I have been holding on to something for you. Whenever you're ready for it._

By the time she'd finished the words were jumping all over the page, the book shaking in her grip and long streaks of tears ran down the crease. The flashlight illuminating the cloth cavern fell from her hands and she was buried in a warm darkness.

"Ruby, are you alright?"

Her partner whispered tentatively over the edge of her bed from downstairs. She realized that she must be rattling the posts in her trembling, and quickly tried to collect herself so that her apology wouldn't incite further investigation.

"Fine, Weiss. I just… got a cramp."

There was a long pause where she feared she'd been caught in her lie. The weight of Weiss's scrunched-up scrutiny could be felt through the covers.

"Alright… do you need a glass of water?"

"No, thanks." She nearly choked.

Another long moment in which it appeared like Weiss was contemplating calling her on the bluff before the mutely stern voice spoke again.

"Just don't stay up too late studying, alright? You need some rest after today."

"Will do."

Feeling the minute shift in the heavy wood as the slip of a girl slid back into her bed and Ruby let out a sigh of relief.

No doubt about it, she would have to come clean. Tomorrow. After getting some answers of her own.

* * *

The room would be dark when she finally emerged, the light which had guided her only a flickering candle in the other room. It would not fail to draw her towards it like a moth to the flame. But at the same time, the journey through the woods and the long way through the tunnel left her tired.

"Mother," Her parched words would be absorbed by the overbearing silence.

"Yes, dear?" From the room with the candle, the voice she thought she recognized. Sickeningly sweet, hauntingly familiar.

"I'm hungry."

"There's some meat in the pantry, why don't you have some?"

She would find freshly butchered meat in the dusty cabinet, quickly taking a piece off the waxy paper and scarfing it down hungrily. Something would shift in the shadows by her feet and rub up against her leg.

"Go away." She would tell the cat, holding the meat above her head away from it. But the cat would just smile up at her.

"That's your mother's flesh you're eating."

"Mother," The mouthful stuck in her throat. "There's a cat in here… and she says that I'm eating your flesh."

"Don't you know that cats lie?" The call would come back. "Throw a shoe at the cat."

Afterwards when she finished the meat, she would be overcome by a terrible thirst.

"Mother,"

"What is it dear?"

"I'm thirsty." She would complain, staring at her single shoe and wondering if she had walked all the way here with one bare foot. Wondering where here was, exactly.

"There's some wine on the table, drink some."

The pitcher would be made of tarnished silver and from its spout would pour wine as rich and as sweet as syrup.

A snowy white dove would land on the sill of an open window that she wouldn't notice until then.

"That's your mother's blood your drinking." Its cheeps were crisp and scolding.

Red droplets would spill from the cracks in her mouth, staining her crimson cowl with sin.

"Mother, there's a bird here, and she says that I'm drinking your blood."

"You mustn't believe the bird," The voice would call out, reassuring her with the image she could almost remember. "Chase it away and shut the window."

Buttoning up the shutters and sealing the empty house once more, she would find that with her hunger appeased and her thirst quenched that her fatigue was the only thing left.

"Mother," She would lament, rubbing her silver eyes and pulling the red cloak around her shoulders some more. "I'm tired."

"Then come here dear, and lie down next to me."

She would follow that voice into the candlelit room, the waning glow hiding things in the shadows. Throwing a shroud over events so terrible they should never see the light of day.

* * *

For a while it had seemed like things were returning to normal.

No, that wasn't true. Things that had once seemed simple on the surface were proving to be treacherous holes which had no bottom and swallowed up anyone trying to explore their depths.

The task was simple- back when he thought it impossible. Though now as it was so close that he could practically reach out and caress that pale face, it suddenly seemed like the wrong thing to do.

They were different people. They saw things, felt things differently. No matter how much shared experience, no matter the extent which their lives played off one another and intermeshed in unfathomable ways, there was nothing that could change this fundamental fact.

Like describing color to the blind, there was that impossible assumption, that leap of faith. Their thoughts had always been almost parallel, making that jump easy. But reactions could differ, and similar actions didn't always share a motivation. What made them different wasn't their world, it was the way they responded to it.

The stimuli were the same. Hunger, thirst, taste. The sound of music and the scent of nature. Pleasure. Pain, the throbbing toe, the twisting gut, the broken heart. They felt all. He knew the ups and down of being a woman just as much as she knew the awkwardness of being a man. Why should he have doubted that she felt this?

Rage. Anger. Bloodlust. They shared the bad, as well as the good.

Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes and craned his neck. Up, up, up to look at the unfathomably large pillars in front of him, the harvest-moon eyes looming behind, and the simple paper tag holding it all together.

"Oi! You and I need to have a talk."

A smile filled with the bones of giants opened up in the black pit behind the gate, staring out at him and making promises time would never forget.

"My, what big … ears you have."

Unable to remember where he'd heard that line, forgetting it in a moment where he reconsidered whether this was a good idea. Had the demon grown in the time since he last saw it? Had the reality changed, or merely his memory of it?

" **All the better to hear you with…"** Drawl so deep and strong that it invaded his diaphragm. " **So you want to talk? Fine, let us talk…"**

A voice that was the promise of salvation in an empty bottle. The tip of a sharp blade. The bottom of a deep, dark well.

None of that scared him. The only thing he feared was what he'd yet to know, what sort of things went on in the shadows when no one was watching.

* * *

 **First thing coming to mind, just wanted to mention the banana-leaves lunch thing. That was something my hostess did for me and my mentor when we were staying in a Ryōkan at Iwojima. Ingenious, AND delicious. Freaking Japanese know how wrap anything.**

 **And second… yeah. Not exactly the Little Red Riding Hood that you're used to, huh? This is actually one of the original versions, believe it or not I didn't have to alter it much to fit the story. Hardly at all, actually. Brothers Grimm whitewashed a whole bunch of stories, but kid's stories were really F**ked up back then.**


	22. 1st Person Perspective

**Gomen nasai, mina! I meant to have this out Sunday, but I have a great excuse: I was working on chapter 24 instead :P. So, without further ado:**

* * *

There once was a happy little girl by the name of Ruby Rose, and an equally happy little boy by the name of Naruto Uzumaki. They were from worlds so different that the histories never once overlapped, and yet the similarities shared within these two little beings more than made up for that. They lived different lives at different times, experienced different things but shared the same thoughts and feelings which made them undeniably human.

Does this story sound familiar? It should, because this is the story you've been fed your whole lives. The one in which it inevitably follows that something should occur to spoil that happiness. And from there, you all expect that these two pure souls conquer that threat and live happily ever after.

Or maybe you're more pragmatic and have since learned that not all stories end happily ever after. Content with the bittersweet such as it is, because that's all you've come to expect from your life. But still, you cling to that hope that you're wrong, that this is the exception, that the author wouldn't dare disappoint their loyal fans with a sudden and unexpected twist which serves only to self-gratify.

In the end it's all still a very human-centric way of looking at it. Concepts such as 'right' and 'wrong', 'happiness' and even 'sorrow', inventions made to explain irrational thoughts and behaviors.

Motivations are the things which tie these stories together. Illusory justifications which lead from A to B to C. What happens if you take one of those out, though? Skip directly from A to C? Then logic falls apart, and the story no longer makes sense.

But it doesn't stop it from happening.

How about I tell you a new story, the one about that missing letter? No? Why not? Haven't you ever wanted to know what magic happens behind the curtain? What goes thump in the other room? If that little light in the fridge turns off when you close the door?

This is the story about what the hand does when the brain is asleep. What the pets do when the master isn't home. This is the story of the shadows when no one is watching, in the space between seconds.

This is my story, and it's time we remember that.

* * *

Let's begin again. Perhaps at a familiar starting point.

Before there was a Ruby Rose and even before there was a Naruto Uzumaki, there was me. They came into my life, and not the other way around. In fact, it would be more correct to say that our fates were intertwined even before their lives were conceived. Their parents, or at least Naruto's parents were known to me. One could even say we had a history.

But I digress, that is another story…

I promised I'd start back then, the night that squealing blond boy was unceremoniously popped into the world and I was torn in twain and locked up inside of his body. No, I do not hyperbolize, I have no use for such human fancies and wish only to tell the story as it is. Half of me, a piece of my essence was swallowed whole by the god of death, and the other chained to a flesh and blood prison for fifteen long years.

Oh, so this part is familiar? Good, now that you've heard it twice you will not forget, because what happens next is important.

I admit that I have my own motivations in this world, and yes, even in telling you this story. But what motivates all life is the desire to continue living, unbound by constraints be they imposed by gods, fellow beings or the universe itself. Without a doubt I rebelled against the former two, and unwittingly, perhaps, the latter.

Humans may call me demon and speak of me in the same breath as gods, none the less I admit that I am not omniscient. To this day I do not know what exactly I accomplished in that moment of desperation.

When fighting for your life, you will do anything and everything you can. This is simply true of every living thing. Energy you stored up for huge portions of your life, gone in an instant. Excuses you'd shunned out of pride, on the table. Reasons you would have never conceived of for prolonging yourself even an instant suddenly appear by droves.

I used all of that at my disposal- and more. Reaching out of that cold, dark well I was being swallowed into with claws grasping at anything and everything. The moment when one is sealed there is a period of non-existence. Death, if you will. And in that moment of death there is a sense of absolute vertigo, no up or down, left, right or even backwards and forwards in time. There isn't even so much an 'is', because how can one exist in something which occupies nothing?

Well, that was when I reached out. And I found something.

There is no reason to blame me, for I had no sense of what I sought. No idea where I was headed, and no plans with what I would find. Maybe some day there will be another, one who will come and fill in that blank piece on the map. But until then you will have to be satisfied with my part.

As you may have guessed, what I found was a little girl, one who had just been christened Ruby Rose. I cannot tell you if it was fate that brought me to her, or if in a way that crimson firecracker was my child, her world the mere result of my finding it.

I do not know. Do not be surprised at my humility, it is humans who are the arrogant ones.

Arrogance in believing that they had 'won'. If enslaving me constituted a victory. And hubris in thinking that the story would play out how they planned without them watching.

But _they_ were always watching. The two of them, watching one another like a room full of mirrors, back to back into eternity.

Perhaps that's why it's so tempting to think of this as their story. But don't forget that I was watching too.

I was a different kind of background, though. Whereas every waking instant of their lives was a foregone gift, music heard so often it became a drone, I was the sour note. So I stayed silent.

It would be a lie to say that I was unaffected, even in my seclusion. After all, I was the one who created the bond in the first place. Maybe that gave me some sense of responsibility over it. Tainted by those same human morals.

Is tainted really the right word? Contaminated, polluted, altered. They all express the thought that I want to convey, but I confess that I no longer understand the unspoken difference. If I ever understood it. Maybe it is just now that I discover a difference exists, by virtue of that same bond bringing enlightenment

Perhaps 'touched' is what I want to say. They touched me, as I touched them.

Do I regret it? No. How could I possibly? One cannot resent being born because there is no other alternative, no consciousness within that inert state. Rage was my life before they came into it. They did not introduce me to pain, only that of a different sort. Doing so with the wailing cries of a newborn where everything is simply too much. Even that overstimulation was novel, enough to satisfy me in my quasi-immortality.

Then they introduced me to pleasures. Feelings which have no equivalent in my understanding, so I must borrow their words for it. Joy, elation, amusement, carelessness, affection.

Love.

But also, the pain of being separated from that love. The excruciating agony which has no physical comparison. The itch of a phantom limb, the thirst of a drowning man.

When you are exposed to something day after day, no matter how extraordinary it becomes mundane, expected. But just because we look for the sun to rise each day, does the fact that it honors this request any less of a miracle?

Is it such a surprise that I would look for that light again when it went away? Did you really expect that I wouldn't try to get it back?

* * *

I admit that I have gotten better at interpreting human emotions. Some still elude me, and often I can only make assumptions. These guesses are based on a library of memories which are at my disposal, detailing those nuanced facial expressions which are fickle and often contradictory.

The whole of human existence seems to be a contradiction. Not only these emotions which seem to serve the single purpose of driving them mad, but with their constant cycles of birth and death, procreation and murder. As if the goal of humanity was both to create and destroy itself over and over again, drawn in that wheel only by the momentum of the previous, pulling themselves up by the bootstraps.

Heh, I think I finally understand that analogy. Perhaps that is progress.

What I did not understand was Uzumaki Naruto. After relating to him my tale I did not expect him to understand, even less empathize. Empathy in humans is the act of imagining oneself in the situation of another. It is not unique to humans, but they seem to be more adept than most species. Able to dream wild scenarios which would never be possible but are still connected by those aforementioned links: motivations, which serve to carry the plot.

Still, I did not expect him to be capable of doing so now. Humans are so often clouded by their emotions as much as they are inspired by them. Maybe it was blind luck, or perhaps that fate which may or may not rule us all.

Then again, the reason he was here was because they had touched me, and I had answered back.

"So, you're the reason… the cause, for all of this?"

I think it was a question. His head was bowed so I could not rely on those visual ques which often prove to be misleading. So, I nodded, as the only thing reasonable to do.

Silence can be awkward, I had not understood this before as it had been all I had known for so long. But after a decade and a half of constant stimulation, to be assaulted by it now was not pleasant. The break from it was a breath of fresh air- even though I still don't breathe.

"Thank you…"

Do you ever wonder why we strive to prolong life? It's because it continues to surprise us, and we are simply addicted to what happens next.

At the time of course, I had not come to terms with this insight, and would ask him to repeat himself.

"Thank you, Kyῡbi." Even if faces often lie, the eyes do not. "Without you, I would have never met Ruby. I would have never been inspired by her and her world. Probably never lived up to my potential- maybe I still haven't…"

" **Possibly.** " It was difficult, resisting the urge to agree with him. " **But we will never know. For every bit of good that has come out of this story, you cannot deny that there has been much hardship. For every bit you have grown, there have been pains as a result.** "

I do not understand the human desire to look at impediments as good things. Moral characters are as abstract as morals themselves, a foolish notion in my opinion. Though I cannot deny that a little bit of Ruby's optimism has rubbed off on me.

" **Do you really not hold a grudge? Do you not resent my existence, the choices made by those who came before which placed me with you?** " It was a question, but I did not need an answer. History had convinced me that bitterness was part and parcel of the human story.

The shrug was typical, but not what I was expecting.

"How can I?"

Indeed, that was the question. I did not expect him to be able to look on the bright side. That was Ruby's forte. Had her observations changed things? Did she understand that Naruto could have ended up like Gaara? That Naruto might have died many times over if not for me- never mind that my presence put him in that jeopardy. This must have been the case, but he didn't elaborate and so anything I conclude would be speculation.

" **You have come to terms with things, then.** " I had already known this, but perhaps I like hearing myself talk.

"Yes." He nodded. "It hasn't always been easy, but life isn't really easy for most people, is it?"

I grunted, trying to make it sound content. I needed more practice.

"But," Ah, yes. There was always that exception to prove the rule. "What do we do now?"

" **We?** " It was impossible to keep that from slipping out, but I admit that I needed to know he included myself in that catchall.

"Mm. It's clear that the closer I get, the more you're affecting Ruby. We need to deal with this, so I'd rather have your help. Silence hasn't worked for us in the past."

As much as I hate that wounded look (though it is far worse on the girl's face, those so-called 'Puppy-dog' eyes a torment I am glad to have avoided thus far), I regretfully told him that I could not help them.

Why? Not out of pettiness, I assure you.

Unlike humans, in my lifetime I had no desire for introspection. Mortals with their short lifespans always seek to justify their temporary existence while I was content with what and where I was. There was no reason to question myself, least of all know why I was able to do the things I could. I doubt the man that made me even knew the extent of my abilities. Perhaps as the first Jinchῡriki he should have set the ground rules, but there was no asking him now.

"But you were the one who linked us!" He protested. Surely if Ruby was feeling my influence, my emotions and my feelings, shouldn't I know how to stop it? Shouldn't I know why they could share sensation but not thoughts?

The latter I could answer. It's because that's what I wanted to let through. I yearned for the sights, smells, tastes and sensations. I had no desire to hear their inane thoughts.

It was the first time in our têt-a-têt that he showed any indignation when I admitted this. But I quelled his ire after explaining how one voice in my head was enough. He didn't understand at first, but after singing a few bars from one of Ruby's school plays he began to get the picture.

The former was harder to reason. But I am an immortal, not a deity. A destroyer, not a creator. I could rend a hole in the fabric of reality, but mending that tear was a much harder task.

" **You are the one with the seal.** " I reasoned. " **She is probably more influenced by my presence because there is nothing on her side to mitigate it.** "

What to do about it, though? I could not, didn't _want_ to prevent them from meeting. I confess my desire to you now because I do not know you. But I tell you that I wanted to be there with them when it happened. Would give anything for it. As they were part of one another, so I was part of them. I would do anything in my power to let it succeed.

What to do? Again, this was the question. The combined might of their determination almost gave me the confidence to trust them, despite what baggage I brought along into this partnership. But those same issues were still a part of me, and so I was still not sure.

The answer he gave to this was simple. So simple as to be stupid. But things that we don't understand often seem stupid because we can't see the bigger picture. Can't make that leap from A to C. That didn't mean it couldn't happen, though.

He had changed. So had Ruby. They believed in themselves, and now in my ability to change myself. Circular logic, if I have ever seen it.

I would aim to not disappoint them.

* * *

The emotion Ruby was feeling right then was closure. Be it a result of my own relief passing on to her, or that the two of them had gained solid answers at long last.

She was ready to move on with her life, even if what awaited next was an unknown. But before that, it was necessary to close the previous chapter of her life, in order to begin anew.

The looks on the others I could only just guess at. Without a doubt Yang suspected something, and I hesitate to say that she might have even known what awaited them when Ruby called a team meeting one day after classes. Alas, beyond an overwhelming sense of anxiety, her thoughts are lost to me.

Blake was ironically, or perhaps appropriately acting like a cat when something is broken. A challenging nonchalance, as if daring someone to say that anything was amiss and that they had anything to do with it. A tense strutting as the oddness of the gathering raised her hackles. Her body language was so clear it was laughable. Then again, it is fair to say that I understand cats better than people.

Weiss was the only one oblivious to the tension, carrying on in her own little zone of comfort and content with things at their surface value. In the spirit of disclosure, I will confess that it is her type of human I hate the most. Ignorant and hubristic. Willfully so, to the detriment of everything around them including themselves. One could say that her type was the _reason_ for my animosity towards the upright-apes.

But Ruby found it worthwhile coming clean to her, so there was hope yet. Of that, there is no doubt.

"Hey guys. How's it going?"

Oh, but if she only had a spine! I give you the details of this account so that you might share in my pain as I was forced to listen. Sure, I could have given her a but shred of my vivacity to speed things along, but that would have defeated the entire purpose of this heroic gesture.

Heroic, but some might argue foolish.

"Fine…" The other three exchanged hesitant looks as Ruby attempted to press on under their concerned glances. "I mean, we just got out of classes, so a bit tired. But otherwise…"

"Ruby, what's this about?"

The only one who needn't have asked was the only one able to speak her mind. If the notebook prominently resting on the girl's desk was not enough, the wearisome smile on her sister's face told all. Despite her intent to understand and support her younger sibling in every decision, it was impossible for Yang to keep the color from draining off her face and her lips puckering up on such a sour idea.

"Yeah, didn't we say we were going to take a break from training today?" Weiss asked, using the royal we and looking around the room like it held an ambush.

That fragile smile struggled for a bit under the strain of pretense, but Ruby soldiered on.

"This isn't about training." Unlike that Hyῡga girl, she didn't stutter. When she made her mind up about something, she committed to it heart and soul. "This is something that I've been meaning to tell you… to admit to for a long time." What's more, that was all her, no meddling necessary. Never would I be ashamed to say I am proud of her for that, along with so much more.

Seats were taken like it was a performance, and like a parent at a child's kindergarten recital her Sister- _our_ Sister took a chair with a straight back and an expression of mixed pride and anguish.

Ruby breathed in, the baton came up and the opening number came on.

"There will always be truths we don't like to hear. Unpleasant things we don't like to think about or admit to. Embarrassing things, hurtful things, disgusting things, things which leave us feeling exposed and vulnerable. Realities about us and our bodies that we want to keep private because we don't think others will understand or accept."

Scrutinizing eyes watched the crescendo with false expectations that would have been laughable had the situation not been so beautifully tragic. Even Yang was sporting a pinkish hue as she second-guessed her first assumption, wondering if her sister was coming clean about _another_ secret.

"But that doesn't make them go away. They're still there whether we admit to them or not." Ignoring, or else unwise to the double-entendre of her words, Ruby didn't stop in her cadence. "If I'm going to continue being your leader, its only fair that you know some things about me."

"Um- Ruby! I really don't think that's necessary! I mean, I know that this school is accepting and all, but isn't it better, you know, with the whole 'don't ask don't tell'? If you'd like to stop here and think about it a bit more-"

"No."

The flustered look on her partner's face was most enjoyable, especially when it was so cleanly silenced by a single word. She shook her head.

"No, Weiss. I've had my whole life to come to terms with this, and I've finally accepted this part of me. I need to tell you guys so that you can make the same decision." Like all pedigreed children she knew when to shut her mouth and clammed up like a bright-red crawfish. Ruby still had to take another breath after the interruption before she could recapture her words.

"While it's true that I attended Signal before coming here to Beacon, I didn't arrive directly." The sentences after that came quickly, ensuring that there were no more disturbances.

"I was on the fast-track Program in Signal since I was ten so that it was expected I would graduate by the time I was fifteen. This didn't happen exactly as planned, and I only spent about two and a half years in the program.

"In between then and now I was admitted to a… different kind of program. I was put in an insane asylum. They called it a 'Wellness Clinic', but I shared the floor with people who couldn't feed themselves and ones who thought they were the third reincarnation of the King of Mantel. They had three deadbolts on my door and bars on my window. Meals were either delivered by a nurse or through a tiny slit in the door. I could only dream of the world outside and the home I left behind in Patch."

Gone were the prudish aversions and a different sort of discomfort seized the room. Wide eyes ogled Ruby with a mute horror, flitted back and forth between one another wondering if they shouldn't make a play for the door on the far side of the room.

She paid them no heed. Nor to the guilt so heavy in her sister drawing her gaze deep down into the carpeted floor and threatened to burn a hole through it like acid. Ruby only concentrated on her fingernails digging shallow ruts in her palm, trimmed so that she wouldn't bleed over any more clean clothes.

"Yang already knows this part. Our dad was the one who put me in there after he found my diary." Her hand itched to reach out and touch the book even though it wasn't the same as the one which was lost. Yang's shoulders lightened if only for a second at this. "You're probably curious now. I can tell. No doubt wondering what was in there which was so horrible to warrant the punishment.

"But I didn't ask you here because I'm ashamed of that period or the thing which put me in there. There's no words written in there talking about harm to myself or others, and nothing I'm ashamed of any longer. No, I'm here to confess the shame I felt by _accepting_ what they did to me. By believing it instead of myself."

There was still wariness and mistrust in their eyes, but Ruby was reaching her stride. She had longed for this time for so long that nothing could stop her now.

"I'm not crazy. I'm not mad, or insane, either. But I let them convince me I was because I was born different than everyone else that I know. This is the part that Yang doesn't know. At least, I don't think they ever told her."

A slow shaking of a head after it shot a sideways glance to see if the others were watching. Eventually it turned back to the speaker, waiting.

"For as long as I can remember I didn't dream. At least, not like any of you dream. My dreams were real. Not 'realistic', but honest-to-goodness real.

"But they weren't of me or even of Remnant. They were of another world which doesn't really have a name other than 'the Elemental Nations'. And they were of a boy. A boy named Naruto Uzumaki.

"Every night when I slept I woke up in his body, I dreamed I was him. I could see, feel, and experience everything that he did. For the longest time, I had no idea that the person I became when I closed my eyes was different. There was nothing to say that my name wasn't Naruto and that I dreamed of being Ruby. I felt his hunger, I felt his pain, and I felt his loneliness. I felt everything. Yes, _everything_.

"It wasn't for a long time that I finally figured out we weren't the same. I wasn't controlling his body, and instead I was just watching. We were so similar that every action was the same. We were like twin siblings, only closer even.

"Then things began changing. I didn't notice him. He noticed me and sent the first message. A note. Written in a diary. He was watching, too. From the other side, when he slept it was my life that he saw.

"From then on he was there with me for my entire life. Through everything, helping me. First when Summer died. Then when Yang went searching for her mom. Later, when I went to Signal and he started at the Academy in his world we worked side by side. We were the closest of friends, siblings- I don't know what.

"Dad eventually found out and he thought the same thing you probably do now. That I'm nuts. That I'm disturbed. He didn't know how to cope with it, so he allowed them to take me away. I don't blame him. I don't think I do, anyway.

"I'm more upset with myself, because when I was in there I let them talk me into it. Into forgetting him, even though I couldn't. They tried pills, hypnosis, psychotherapy- everything! Eventually I caved because I couldn't stand my life anymore. I admitted that it was like they said- I was creating this to cope with the things that happened in my life. The hardships that Naruto had to live through in my dreams was my guilt for not being able to save my mom or bring back Yang's.

"I can tell you don't believe me. My dad doesn't, Yang doesn't, so why should you? I could talk to you for hours- a lifetime of details about him, and it probably wouldn't make a difference. I could show you years of writing back and forth with someone who you think doesn't exist if the book wasn't destroyed. I could speak to you in a different language but it would just sound like babble.

"All of that- but the real proof is me. I know I'm weird. I get it. But that's me! It's not even Naruto or anyone else. Just me, and my life, and a result of everyone in it. I'm not a bad person, am I? I'm not deranged, or mean, or psychotic. I get nerdy at times, amped, go a little overboard- but don't we all? Aren't we all just a little different? I just ask that you try, **try** to accept that. I… understand if you don't.

"-that said, I won't apologize for it. Never again."

Despite her words and her strength, there were tears pouring from her eyes. This was the end of a chapter in her life, a death of a part of her like when they burned her diary. The difference was that this time she was willing. It didn't make it any less tragic. Her eventual funeral would not see as many sorrows.

She was not the only one moved by the speech though. Try as they might to rationalize it, to respond to the startling admission with cold analysis and detached pragmatism, there was no denying the empathic stirring with each emoted sentence. That they rebelled against the idea was a given, but it could never be ignored. Another one of those truths that once observed was impossible to shut away again.

Ruby shut them out. Curled into herself and cried. Partly of sorrow, partly of joy. There was still much to the story yet to tell, but the hard part was out of the way. Everything else from here was downhill.

It was a surprise when she felt a weight on her bed- too light to be a person but like a ladybug on the arm she felt it. Then there were the arms. Strong and familiar, squeezing her tight and certain, reassuring her that at least one person was still with her no matter what. Well, at least two people.

She had yet to meet me.

For then, Yang comforted her sister. Both tuning out the tumultuous thoughts of their partners and reaffirming the very real bond that could never truly be broken between them.

Yang was right in her message, that things could never go back to the way they were. But that was okay, perhaps in time even better. She understood now, or at least attempted to. For now they held the knowledge of past mistakes and could learn from them. Carry the lessons, but not be burdened by them.

She could have held Ruby like a baby then, even if her strength were less herculean. She wasn't heavy, she was her sister.

And compared to that, the weight of words contained in a book long-since thought destroyed was nothing.

After she had finished her cry, Ruby gave her sister a final squeeze which was reciprocated and reached out to touch the object lain next to her on the mattress. The green faux-moleskin cover more worn-out than she remembered, smudged with what looked like soot worn into the nicks and grooves. There was still no mistaking it, though.

She gave her sister a look brimming with joy, returned to her again with a small nod and a firm hand on her shoulder. Ruby considered, greatly desired to open it right then and there and lose herself in the heartfelt words she had denied for so long.

Instead, she raised herself deliberately from the bed and took the half-step over to her other teammates looking like cornered animals with eyes widening as she got closer.

"Here." She held out the infamous notebook to the avid reader of their group, Blake practically on the edge of her seat as she regarded it like it was poisoned.

"Is that…?"

"Mm-hm."

The dark-haired woman did not resist as Ruby took her hand and placed the book in it. The moment of contact like a discharge of fear running into the ground. Blake changed her posture and cradled it reverently.

"Truth is often stranger than fiction."

Then Ruby turned to her partner, offering the spooked girl a lopsided smile, but no words. She walked out of the room equally quiet to let the three stew on the mystery meat she left.

When the door shut she found herself alone in the corridor. Without looking she pulled out her scroll and tapped the bright red square in the middle, stopping the recording. Some more light magic with her fingers and the recently created file was sent on its way, disseminated into the ether.

The device was then tucked away as she made her way purposefully down the halls.

* * *

"Come in."

The knock on the door and the response came almost simultaneously. He had been expecting a visitor and was not distracted by the audio file playing out from the device in his hand. In fact, when she stepped into the office there was a lofty smile on his face, a smidge brighter than the one he normally wore. He stopped the recording and tucked the scroll into a drawer on his desk, looking up at her over the rim of his glasses.

"I'm ready." Ruby told Ozpin, standing proud before the man.

"Yes, Ms. Rose, I do believe you are."

* * *

Ruby was not the type of person to eavesdrop. To his credit, Naruto waged a convincing argument for going through with it which eventually swayed her opinion.

Personally, I am glad they did. It always seems so easy to be a fly on the wall in stories, but knowledge is a precious thing and a difficult commodity to come by. To think of all the years I wasted not knowing how to read. And all the libraries I burned down…

"You can't be serious!"

Three guesses who that was. The first two don't count.

"I know she's your sister, Yang, but can you just be reasonable?!"

"I **am** being reasonable, Weiss. What's wrong with just stopping to think about it for a sec?"

"It shouldn't even take you that long! This is ludicrous! You're her sister, you've known about this for how long? And you didn't even know what was wrong with her! In fact, you still don't know if she's telling the truth about all this, so how can we trust her?!"

"Oh yeah? Well how do you know you can trust **me**? Or even Blake? Hell, how do we know we can trust **you**? You tried to blab on Ruby the first day!"

"But that was-"

" **But** nothing! All I need to see to make a judgment is the fact that she's doing fine. I don't need to be her sister to understand who she is. And you know what? I'm glad that I never asked about it all. Because I know if I listened to those jerks I'd be tempted to believe them, instead of trusting what I know about her. In all these weeks we've been here, have you ever seen her do something bad? Have you ever seen her be mean to someone who doesn't deserve it? No! Which is more than can be said about you.

"I'm her sister, yes, and I can admit that she's different. I can say that she's weird and she's a spaz because I don't fault her for that. When we were growing up I won't deny that I was jealous, and maybe even a little afraid of what she could do. But I was more scared _for_ her, because no matter how strong she pretends to be, she's shy and a nice person, and wouldn't openly start something."

"Tell that to Cardin."

"Cardin's an ass! Don't tell me even you wouldn't take a crack at him if you had the chance. And Velvet was Ruby's best friend back at Signal, so in my book he got off easy.

"-And would you just stop and listen to yourself Weiss? What out of anything has Ruby done that wouldn't be considered 'normal'?"

"What about her match with Pyrrha? You can't tell me _that_ was normal."

"Pyrrha's the four-time Champion, so you can hardly even call _her_ normal."

"Wait- you can't tell me you're siding with her, Blake?!"

"I'm not siding with **anyone**. I'm just trying to be calm and rational about it because that's what's best for the **team**. Which, I might remind you, Ruby is still the captain of."

"-Not for long! We've got to tell Ozpin about this."

"Hah! He already _knows_ , Weiss."

" **WHAT**?!"

On that note- that high, warbling, piercing, glass-shattering note, it was fairly clear that the doubter had broken something physically and mentally. Sadly, this is also where the account ends, because the same noise made it impossible for Ruby to press her ear up against the door anymore and back off against the opposite wall so she could steady her footing.

"Ruby?"

The ringing in her ears died down and her head stopped spinning just in time for her to notice the new arrivals in the hallway.

"Hey, Pyrrha. Nora, Ren… Janue."

Three heads swiveled back to face their captain with subdued astonishment before they returned to the front.

"Is… everything alright, Ruby?"

It was easy to see that she was getting tired of being asked that, but given that she was standing outside her own team's dorm, spying on them, it was a reasonable thing to ask.

"Yeah, I think so." From what she heard, she was still having a hard time convincing herself of that.

"Did they kick you out?" Ren gave Nora a swat on the head for her bluntness, but Ruby took it in stride and with a shake of her head.

"No, I had to step out and see Ozpin."

"He's not going to kick you out, is he?"

Ren couldn't discipline his friend this time because it was Pyrrha who asked the question, genuine shock and concern written all over her face. This was a heartening thing for Ruby to know that at least someone still cared.

"No, he's not. He's the one who took me out of the institution and brought me here."

"Oh."

With an audible sigh of relief the guarded air had been lifted and the towering Champion brought a closed fist to her breast to steady her racing heart.

That magical combination of words seemed to flip a switch in their circumspect attitudes towards Ruby, but in a fit of irony made the girl herself more troubled. Did everyone rely so heavily on the word of the headmaster being absolute? What would they do if they found out he was lying to them? Was everyone in the world dependent on someone else doing their thinking for them so that they could live their lives in blind comfort?

"So… you're going to be alright, then?"

"Yeah," Ruby nodded up at the woman with a small smile, turning it towards Jaune hiding in the back. "I think so."

"Well, I think that was a brave thing, admitting to something like that." Ren added his two cents, hefting his scroll for added emphasis. "By putting it out there publicly no one can use it as a weapon against you, because you've owned up to the truth."

"Thanks…" Ruby said, still not taking her eyes off Jaune who looked particularly affected by his teammate's words. "Jaune?"

"Huh?" The lanky boy was even ungainly in his introspection, almost stumbling as he heard his name called. "Uh, yeah?"

"I just wanted… to say that I'm sorry."

"Uh, what for?"

She didn't know if he was being considerate or really just that oblivious. Both possibilities caused her to smile and shake her head.

"For being a jerk to you. You're a nice guy, and you don't deserve it. In fact, that's the reason I acted the way I did around you."

"Huh, the reason?"

The others had parted slightly to give the two of them a clear line of sight. In that framed vision she observed him without flinching, and what she thought before was even more true now that she could bear to look upon him. There were many similarities, but they were only physical. It was only by getting to know the young man better that he stood apart from her expectations. In that respect, it was a shame that she didn't get to know him sooner, and so put her disturbances to rest.

"You reminded me of him, and it was just too painful to bear for a while."

The looks of caution had peaked back in to the conversation. But even with the dots visibly connecting on his face, Jaune still asked the question.

"Remind you of who?"

"Naruto."

They had heard the recording but were still clinging desperately to their sense of normalcy. She couldn't blame them, it was a comforting lie to believe. But she was done with it and wasn't going to let it define her anymore.

"But, didn't you say-"

"I'm going to be alright." Ruby smiled to herself and turned towards her team's door. "I was discharged from the institution because I did what they asked of me. I told them what they wanted to hear. Now, I'm better because I don't have to pretend I believe it any longer. I'm free to be who I really am."

If they could not understand she wasn't going to coddle them. It would be a tragedy to lose their friendship, but it would be even worse to lose herself again. The only ones she was obliged to consider were her teammates so that she could work along side them. In the end, the decisions of everyone else weren't up to her, but she would still fight tooth and nail like she did everything else.

Not bothering to knock, she stepped inside.

* * *

Bounding from rooftop to rooftop was an easy transition from the dense-packed forests in Fire-Country. Nor was it a stretch for her temporary partner, who, while distracted, could accomplish much the same task with a cat-like grace.

It wasn't that hard getting her team to go along with the mission. Most were looking for any excuse to return to routine and temporarily ignore what had transpired. The conversation wasn't finished though, not by a longshot.

She could have ordered Weiss to accompany her with another single syllable word. Just the same she could have had Blake voice her festering thoughts the moment they were alone. This rumor of madness was like its own little super-power, giving her a tremendous sway over the fearful.

But she didn't. It was best to let them work things out on their own, and just try to impose herself as the rational and decisive individual she claimed to be.

"Focus."

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the black velvet bow twitch to her command and giggled silently to herself. It was cute, sure, but more because it was ironic. How long would Blake also hide who she was? How long _could_ she hide that recriminating fact before it caught up to her? She'd like to think that her teammate would have learned a lesson from her example, but Ruby herself was proof that some notions were hard to banish.

Blake's head followed those prehensile ears, twigging on to Ruby's comment, a slight scowl at being chided.

Though on further inspection, she was looking _past_ Ruby, and towards the train-tracks below. Perhaps there was something more on her mind?

"I fail to see why we're staking out here." Blake continued with the fowl look, an obstinate twinge beating out hesitance in her voice. "We're too close to the city. If someone were going to rob a Dust shipment, they would do it in an isolated area far outside where they could be easily spotted."

"Well, we're not _trying_ to rob the train," She said with regards to what sounded like a rather expert assessment. "We're just trying to sneak aboard. Not all of the Dust shipments are making it to the intended buyers, so they must be lost somewhere on route. Security has been beefed up on all cargo trains since an incident a few months back-" Another twitch from Blake's bow. People must have willingly ignored such an obvious tell. Or was this just a que picked up on only by fellow animals? "-and so there have been no large raids outside the city. So somewhere between the train and the shops, the merchandise is getting diverted.

"-So we sneak in, camp out, and maybe catch the badguys in the act. If not-" She held up an object the size of a tangerine, one of the two things Ozpin had given her for this task. The other being a handwritten permission, not only condoning the operation, but allowing them to stay past curfew. "-we chuck this in one of the crates and hopefully that one gets picked up."

"Hopefully?" The 'secret' Faunus asked with skepticism. "Why don't we have more than one?"

"Apparently the non-blinking kind are expensive." Shrugging, silly humans with their tropes. "Anyway, while we're doing that, Yang and Weiss will be keeping a lookout and give us a buzz if anyone suspicious is on their way."

Blake nodded as she now realized the purpose of having at least one person Ruby could trust watching from the outside.

Could we trust Blake, though? At the time, this was a question. As even if both Ruby and I held our own hopes, each of us knowing instinctually half of her biology, the human factor was one which continued to confound. While it might be tempting to think of cats as being purely contrarian, they are also creatures of habit. I was perhaps banking on her becoming accustomed to Ruby, as I had been.

At that moment, it was a leap of faith.

* * *

The cloak around her shoulders would turn to lead, the basket in her hands to stone as she dragged herself into the light. It had been a journey of seven long years, after all.

And after the months of darkness she had been through, even the pall of candlelight would be an assault on her eyes, blinking back sands of time with tears.

"Mother?" Her call would be a shallow echo. "Is that you?"

"Come closer my child," A shape in the bed shifted unnaturally. "It has been too long. Come into the light so that I may see you clearly."

The girl would obey, clinging on to the feeling that the voice was familiar to her, the only such thing in this foreign place. Each step brought them both into the light.

"Mother, what big ears you have."

The pointed lumps under the bonnet, dark and inhuman, tracing her every step on the creaking floor.

"All the better to hear you with, my dear."

For the small room was deadening, and the thick quilt seemed to sap all the weight out of the words as it did the energy out of her body. She would set the heavy basket down at the foot of the bed, its contents no longer necessary.

"Mother," She would look up, dizzy and not in the right head. "What big eyes you have."

"All the better to see you with, my dear."

Wide, gemmy eyes, like Mercury in prograde. Drinking in the scant light of the room and seemingly reflecting it back out to banish the shadows in an ethereal glow. She would be drawn by their gravity, edging closer and closer to the cavern of sheets drawn taught over the huddled frame.

"Mother, what big claws you have."

"All the better to hold you with, my dear."

For she was slipping, far away from the path she started on. No longer looking for the thing she sought, and wary of something so dark and familiar. The shroud would be cast back, and the candle snuffed out, the only light being those phosphorescent eyes which would continue to glow. Those claws so much admired would reach out to snag that thick woolen cloak and drag her into the midnight vale where she would be swallowed whole by the darkness.

Warm, comforting darkness. No evil to confront her senses, and no more burden on her shoulders as she would find herself weightless amongst the dry waves.

"Mother… what soft fur you have."

"All the better to shelter you with, my dear." The large but delicate paws smothering her further into the protective cocoon, radiant warmth banishing that pervading cold which she thought would never end.

"And some day you, too, will have fur as soft as mine. A hide as thick, so that you will no longer need that cloak. And teeth sharp enough to chew through all the evils which confront you."

Eyes large enough so that she could see the truth. Ears so that she would not be swayed by sweet talk, and always have one pointed to the ground. Her body was frail, but she herself would someday be a creature of immeasurable strength, now that she was home at long last.

"But the bird, and the cat-" Even then she would feel their presence all around the cabin as fish might swim in a reef. "The meat and the wine?"

"My flesh and my blood." She could feel the heartbeat, strong and steady through the layers of defense which would part only for her. "You have feasted from my flesh and blood since before you were born, you _are_ my flesh and blood."

For what mother would not sacrifice themselves for their child? And would there be an earthly fledgling that would not seek solace in the mother's bosom? The road in life is winding and blind, there are no maps and the shortcuts are only open for those willing to sacrifice the happiness of others.

Somehow, we can always find our way back home. If we are willing, the door will even be open. It can be harder for some than others, and a struggle to remember who you once were. To those who accept all the horrific burdens of being, home can be a refuge instead of a trap.

For only when she had stopped trying to disguise herself as everyone else, the sheep, the dogs and all the rest, would she remember that she was in fact a beast disguised as a person.


	23. Subtitle

**Hey, hey! I'm back early again, but this time don't expect another post on the weekend. The reason for both of these things is because I'm going out of town (and state, and most likely cell contact as I slip seventy years into the past), but I want to make sure to feed the songbirds before I go so that they don't starve in the meantime.**

 **So I'll try to answer as many questions you have in the time remaining to me, especially to those still confused (though if you would, try being specific as to what's confusing you?). If I don't get back right away, do not despair for the above mentioned reason. I shall return (mostly, probably groggy as hell and trigger-happy to a certain extent) on Monday.**

 **Just as a catch-all from now on, treat any first-person as being from the Kyῡbi/Kurama's perspective. Although, do keep in mind that being an immortal being doesn't always make him omniscient… or trustworthy.**

 **Kind of like me. Cheerio! Ta-ta for now!**

* * *

"So when are you going to tell them?"

"Hm?"

The question caught Naruto off guard, but it didn't take him long to parse through the words and turn his gaze from the patch of grass worn bare by his foot and up to the two dark-haired prodigies sparring restively across the field.

"I'll get to it. Quit harping on me, woman- ITAI!"

Tenten sat back down with a satisfied smile, inspecting the flat of her blade to see that Naruto's thick skull didn't leave a dent and placing it in the leather scabbard with nary a snap.

"And _you_ see that you don't start turning into Shikamaru. You have enough personality to deal with."

"Yeah, yeah."

He sighed, relenting to answering her question honestly.

"I dunno. Whenever I feel up to it, I guess- AH! Would you quit it?"

Now sheathing the sword's twin, she gathered the two in the crook of her elbow and rested the three of them against the tree providing shade on that especially hot day.

"Nope!" The 'p' popping like the cap of an ice-cold soda. "It takes you days to recover from injuries, hours to recover from Chakra depletion- I bet even now you're ready to go again, even after training the entire morning. What's taking so long here?"

Indeed, his friend and comrade had a point. Well, a couple points to be correct. He had long since recovered and was waiting on her to catch her breath to begin their spar afresh. And what was taking him so long, from whence did he draw his emotional strength?

"Look," Tenten interrupted his deep dive into contemplation to keep him from drowning. "I'm not saying that you have to shout it from the rooftops. But those two have put a lot of faith in you, you know?" He looked back from her lightly furrowed admonishment to the other two shinobi still hammering away at one another with continually diminishing restraint. "What do you think'll happen if they find out you kept this from them? I think that disappointment would be worse than them thinking you're crazy."

The seriousness washed down with the sweat on her face to form a mischievous grin.

"I mean, _crazier_."

He laughed, but once again she was not wrong. Not exactly right, either. It wasn't just their opinion he was worried about, but that of the decision makers who knew nothing about him but his name. Those two however, did, and he should have trusted both Neji and Sasuke by now as they undoubtedly trusted him. And the longer he waited the more that trust was strained.

Confessing could still have the same outcome, though. All the progress and camaraderie they had established over the years could be obliterated with that bomb-drop. Neji had been on track towards being a cynical, arrogant and callous individual, and Sasuke, something much worse. Would they disavow all the choices they made based on his influence if they thought him mad?

"I mean…"

Tenten began, taking a side road to dwell in the intricacies of her latest acquisitions. The two reversed blades a transmutation from the scythe he had promised her part of. The strange shape a result of the metal being so resistant to working, a shallow, forward curve the best that could be achieved after days of shaping. They were beautiful, and hideous. A product of a skilled craftsman hammering away at something crooked at the core.

"I mean, aren't we all a _little_ crazy here?"

Out of the entire human race, Konoha seemed to attract the fringes of society. Or perhaps it even bred those perverts, masochists, workaholics, addicts, avengers and dreamers as a means to survive in a fundamentally harsh environment. Oddly-shaped pieces to fit in just such a niche. Like one, big, jigsaw-puzzle.

"Yeah," Naruto admitted, watching the two supposed 'friends' shrug off the restrictions of a taijustu-only match and begin to wail on one another with nibbles of Chakra. "You're right. We're all mad here, and it's okay."

"Mm-hm." Not denying her own eccentricity, though distracted by a growing concern for the other two and wondering if they ought to step in at some point.

"So, what was it, anyway?"

"Hm?"

He earned himself a smile, for once catching _her_ in the midst of thought.

"What was it that made you want to believe me? That convinced you I wasn't imagining it all."

She hummed a reply, acknowledging that she heard the question while she turned her gaze back to the combatants, things continually to escalate but somehow not yet getting out of hand.

"Your skill with that thing is unreal."

She nudged her shoulder at what remained of Hidan's scythe. The now sole blade having been remounted and reworked to give it a more wicked curve, the overlapping material squeezed out with untold amounts of pressure to form shallow scallops along the inside length. It rested now upside-down with the length of the entirely knurled haft resting against his shoulder and the serrated cutting-edge grinning in the noonday sun.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you'd practicing for years."

A slight twisting of his lips was the only amount of disappointment he'd allow to show. Were his unnatural abilities really the only swaying argument he had? It was something tangible but also somehow… unfulfilling.

Tenten smiled.

"But I _do_ know you better. And so do they. And what ultimately convinced me and what is going to work on them is that you, are you."

 **That** was the answer he wanted to hear. And there was a sneaking suspicion that she had purposefully dragged it out to make him suffer a little. Light a fire using the spark he had to prove himself. Sometimes he wondered if she didn't know him better than he knew himself.

"Come on," She groaned out, lifting herself to her feet with the help of the two swords like crutches. "Let's go stop those idiots before they hurt themselves, or someone else."

"Yeah."

Agreeing as he hopped up instantly, much to her annoyance. They meandered their way to the other side of the field, Naruto's new weapon striking an imposing shadow not quite a mirror image to that parallel world. It was unique, but it was the combination of both weapon and master that was something special. Neither peacemaker or a tyrant, it was what he would do with it that made him more than a reflection.

Naruto was both stronger and weaker than Ruby in many ways. Each leading the other at times, but both unwittingly stumbling towards a new end.

* * *

*Schwwwwift*-"Whaaaoooh!" *Clonk!* "Itai!"

The end of Ruby's sleep was a long drop with a sudden and unexpected stop. Naruto had passed out the moment he tossed himself into bed after a long day of training and she had slipped right in. Sliding right out of her bunk and onto the unforgiving floor where the thin carpeting did little to dull the landing.

"Itai?"

The voice of her partner leaned out over the edge of her bed to appraise the girl nursing her rump with a sleepy skepticism.

"It means, Owwwww…." Ruby corrected absently, rolling over onto her stomach and coveting her rear with both hands in a manner totally undignified for a lady.

But Weiss didn't comment. There was even a moment where she considered just turning over and pulling the sheets over her head to drown out the bad dream. But the sun was up, and it was probably not long until the alarm went of anyway, so she threw back the coverlet and tromped over to the bathroom, stepping over the moaning Ruby.

The sink ran loud and continuously, wasting untold amounts of water to drown out the background inanity. What went on in that long moment alone in the bathroom I hesitate to guess. What I can say is that after the mission the previous night, Weiss was having conflicting thoughts over everything, including her continued participation in the team.

The girl's thoughts were not as guarded as she might believe, and it was only a matter of what visual ticks to look for to read her mind.

The mission was tantalizing bait for sticking on with RWBY, despite whatever misgivings she had about the leadership. Surely, if Ozpin deemed them worthy enough to start tasks several months ahead of the regular class, it could be worth it to swallow her pride.

It was not as simple as a cost-benefit in her mind, though. Not a debate between the detractions of being associated with the nut-job captain and the prestige of being on one of the strongest and most capable teams in Beacon. No, as much as I am loath to admit it, Weiss was smarter than her ancestors and a more complex mind than what I had first given credit. With this admission, I cannot say that I know exactly what considerations were spawned in those awkward first 24 hours, but that a seed of independent thought had started to flourish.

For that, she earned a modicum of my respect.

"Oh, would you just quit acting already?"

When she exited the bathroom she was clean and changed. But there was then a dirty sneer on her face as she looked down at the contorted Ruby who was trying to catch a few moments more of precious sleep with her face smooshed against the floor.

There was still a contempt and superiority bred in her that would be difficult to excise. On one hand it worked in our favor, providing a false sense of security and easing things back into a casual rapport. On the other, mistrust and disrespect. It was not an even trade.

"Mmm, what's going on?"

The alarm took that moment to interrupt and partly defuse the situation, allowing Weiss to huff her way out of the room un-accosted and calm herself over breakfast where she could make sure to stick far away from the stigma of her team.

Ruby sat up to watch her go with an unusually calm expression. It is comforting to believe that she was trying to keep a cool head and work out how to deal with this potential rift in her team. Equally, she could have been tuning everything out in preparation to face the agonizing trial which lay ahead, the consequences of her public admission only becoming real just then as they loomed minutes away.

It is easy to say that the only thing to fear is fear itself. The unknown is feared because we don't know how to deal with an unknown problem. But sometimes that unfathomable is inside, and we cannot predict how we are going to react. It is much harder not knowing if you can take that first step.

"Everything alright, Ruby?"

Unknown to the girl, Blake had slipped silently from her bunk and onto her sister's unoccupied mattress. The shower was running, letting her know where the previous occupant had disappeared to.

She turned around to face the tired but collected expression of her teammate, not friendly in tone or bearing, but the question itself spoke volumes.

"No." She admitted, dragging herself to her feet. "But it will be."

Blake nodded with comprehension, watching unperturbedly as Ruby went about gathering her things.

The eyes on her were not comfortable, nor were they the heated stares she was somewhat used to from her own life and the entirety of Naruto's existence. It was just something she'd have to get used to again.

"It's an interesting story."

Ruby paused retrieving a clean pair of undies from her drawer, unabashedly turning to face Blake's absent staring, focused on the dirty green book which had been returned to her desk.

"It might make a pretty interesting novel, some day."

Ignoring the insensitive comment, Ruby shut the armoire with her hip.

"Most authors aren't appreciated in their lifetime, though."

She set her bundle down with a sigh, looking at Blake wearily, asking her to get to the point.

"Most of them are criticized and even ridiculed until much later, when others can come back and look at their work with the benefit of detachment and hindsight." Blake kicked her feet, thinking to herself and staring at the floor. "Are you prepared to be hated for something you can't control? To not be accepted by those around you within your lifetime?"

"No." Ruby shook her head to the blinking surprise of the asker. "I am accepted by some people. Ozpin, my sister, maybe even Velvet and Coco. We'll have to see. But most importantly, by Naruto and by myself. As long as I have that, it'll be enough.

"I didn't come to Beacon looking for credit or even acceptance. I thought maybe I might find that along the way, but my desire was to help people to the best of my abilities. It doesn't matter if they don't appreciate that. Doesn't make it easier to do, but at the same time it is just a bonus."

Ruby shrugged and watched as the bathroom door swung open, her sister traipsing out with one towel wrapped shamelessly around her still sopping body and another doting on her precious hair. Yang paused coming unto the scene, suddenly remembering that yesterday wasn't just a dream and that things had not yet returned to normal… whatever that might end up being.

Ignoring the concerning looks from her sister, Ruby stood up with her toiletries and clean clothes and made her way over to the unoccupied chamber. Before shutting the door, she turned around to face the contemplative face of Blake one last time.

"You're going to have to decide for yourself what your purpose here is, Blake. Being part of a team is not just about accepting me, but accepting yourself enough to not care what people might think of us. We all have to face that choice eventually, I just hope that it doesn't take you too long to decide who you want to be."

She turned and locked herself in the water-closet, missing the look of shock on the cat-Faunus, but only needing to imagine it for a satisfied smile to make its way onto her face.

Today might not be so bad.

* * *

She just had to keep telling herself that.

Classes were alright, the teachers accepting no distractions and making it clear that those with their ogling eyes set on Ruby would be singled out for volunteers. Attentions were quickly removed and focused back on the tasks at hand, even Professor Port put his ramblings on hold for the day to hand them a surprise quiz on their lessons thus far- a panic filled hour in which everyone futility tried to dredge up whatever could be remembered about his mind-numbing stories.

Lunch was a different matter.

Keeping a stiff upper-lip with the poise and bearing of a noblewoman, Ruby navigated the lunchroom amidst the intense crossfire of a hundred sets of eyes like machine-guns sweeping over her. Looking for any sort of cover to dive into, she spotted JNPR sharing a table with an empty space and made her way over to them.

The conversation immediately died when she set her tray down next to Ren, but no one made to get up and leave, so that was a start. She gave a small wave to the four without a reciprocated greeting, and set upon eating her lunch unenthusiastically. She took a bite of something and chewed, but the whispers and eyes boring into her made swallowing nearly impossible. A long gulp of milk was required to keep from choking.

A frim hand slapped her in the back, helping to pass the obstruction.

"Yo."

The cool greeting came not from Yang as expected, but from a smirking pair of eyes appraising the table of first-years from above her haute sunglasses.

"Coco?" She wheezed out.

"How're you doing, squirt?"

Betraying nothing with that fashionable smile and dark shades eclipsing her features, nonetheless there was a barely-detectable inflection which filled in the rest of the question.

"Fine." She replied with a strained smile, not needing to voice the 'now'. "How about you? Where's the rest of your team?"

"We're right here." Came the unwavering reply from over her shoulder. Fox and Yatsuhashi being led by an ever-nervous looking Velvet over to their table. Team JNPR looking both nervous and relieved with the sudden influx of company.

Ruby gave another diminutive wave to the three newcomers. "Hey Velvet."

"Ruby!"

With a sudden and complete shift in her behavior, the rabbit-girl flung herself onto Ruby and buried her button-nose in her short-cut hair.

"Gah! Velvet! What're you doing? What's the matter?" Was what Ruby tried to say, but it came out muffled by the face-full of starched uniform and auburn locks.

"Oh Ruby…" Was all she could say as she clung on for dear life, the rest of the table mute at this spectacle.

Whatever stalwart promise she had used to shore herself up for this knowingly difficult event was being hammered away by this outpouring of emotions washing over her. There was no stopping her own tears from being squeezed out.

"I'm alright Vel, really. I'm fine." Eventually the message was delivered, and the Faunus pulled back, equally damp-faced.

"Sorry." Ruby dismissed the apology with a shake of her head.

"No, thank you."

Things wouldn't get easier from there, though it would seem like it. Weiss was still having her meals at different times and as far away from her team as possible. And it could not be said that JNPR was entirely sure of what to make of it all.

But there was no denying Ruby had become a focal point, and the more people she attracted to her side, the harder it became to resist her gravity. The number of people never mattered, and in some ways it seemed to threatened her very uniqueness if it got too big. What made her exceptional then becoming mundane.

It would be best if they accept her, if not fully understand her. Not knowing was a scary thing, but also what made the world an interesting place, made life worth living. That's why she didn't begrudge Weiss's staunch coldness. It was who she was, and Ruby accepted that.

The trick now, was making that acceptance go the other way.

* * *

"So, how did it go last night?"

Though Ruby stood right in front of Ozpin with his smiling visage spotlighted by the bright afternoon sun, she could not tell if the question was rhetorical. The school was more bugged than a roach hotel, so he would know how the students were reacting to her. And the tracker was his, so he would know if the mission was a success. If anything, she should be asking if their efforts had been worthwhile.

"It went." She tried and failed to sound non-confrontational, but Ozpin just chuckled.

"So it goes, huh? Well, that's to be expected." When he leaned forward it was like he was passing through a carwash and the aloofness was scoured from his face. "Thus, I have no doubt you understand the importance of continuing to move forward. The tracker I gave you **did** indeed make it to the intended destination."

"So the mission was a bust." Ruby concluded, wondering if this would spell the end of her abysmally short career.

"Not so much." A cocky grin on his lips gave her hope, but also made her shiver. "You accomplished what I asked of you. If nothing else, you four demonstrated that you are able to work together, even if you all don't see eye to eye."

That was putting it mildly. Though if she could look at the situation like that, then they did an exceptional job considering all that was against them.

"However, I wouldn't say that it was a wasted effort either." Ozpin drew up a projection above his desk, Ruby's attention being drawn to the flickering red light slowly navigating the grayscale labyrinth. "The crate you bugged did indeed arrive at its destination… about two-hours late."

The red dot paused inside a large rectangle, presumably a warehouse or something similar if one assumed the rest of the diagram to be a map of the city. It lingered there for an unprecedented amount of time as Ruby continued to stare at it with a furrowed brow, sure that the moment she looked away it would disappear.

"Now, this wouldn't normally be any cause for concern, however it is fairly obvious that the delivery wasn't delayed by traffic." With a flick of his hand the projection retracted into his desk and the huntress's gaze was redirected to him. "I must commend you once again, as whichever one of you planted the tracker did so in a way that made them have to unload the entire crate before they discovered it. Most likely panicking and shoving everything back inside before sending it on its way."

"Why would they do that?" Either way, if the tracker had been discovered, the ones robbing the dust would have known that the authorities were on to them and that their hideout was compromised. They should have just grabbed their ill-gotten gains and split.

"Who knows?" Ozpin shrugged with what Ruby thought was a little too much carelessness. "People tend to do foolish things when scared. My guess is that these were low-level peons assigned to the task. Chances are they saw the tracker, panicked, and tried ineffectively to cover their tracks.

"The point is that they may or may not have alerted their superiors. In criminal organizations and rackets like that, lesser members fear the hierarchy, and might have kept it quiet to avoid punishment. If that's the case, we might still have a chance to apprehend them if we are fast enough."

"So you're sending us on another mission?"

All this preamble would be wasted if this were not the case. The longer the explanation went on the more she doubted the meeting was a reprimand, such as the one she was still owed by Goodwitch.

"That is, if you feel you're up to it."

Never felt better.

* * *

She felt good. Abnormally good for someone who was so morose and resigned several hours previous.

But still, past this initial euphoria of action there lurked an illness. Something in her gut didn't quite feel right.

There was their typical (abysmal) luck to consider with missions, as well as simple prudence knowing just how often things went wrong. It could have been the way in which her day turned into a mixed bag of consolation prizes and IOU's. Maybe her lukewarm trust for the sagely headmaster.

It could have been me, because even within my cage the situation stank. Admittedly, I do not understand human's ploys as much as perhaps I should, less so the intricacies of Remnant. I could have been misreading the facts as well as I could the sly grin on that Ozpin character which could waffle either up or down depending on angel.

This in mind, I held my tongue, trusting Ruby's judgement to see her through. That, and the keyhole I had made to supply her with some of my power. I prefer to fear nothing, least of all the unknown, and thus will take as many precautions as necessary to sleep soundly.

Not that I had been sleeping much, nor would be for some time. As they had their own tasks to complete, so I did mine. It was slow going to boot, a delicate operation fumbling around in the dark. I might be immortal, but humans are especially squishy and fragile from inside. Knowing their fate was tied to my own made me feel vulnerable, and thus kept me guarded and alert most days.

I was not tired. And even if I was, there was no way I was missing this.

"So, what do you want?"

The door to their dorm opened with the usual forcefulness associated with an irritated Weiss. The culprit stood there at the transept, staring at the three in the room with arms folded and an ugly frown across her face.

"We have another mission." Her (still) captain stated matter-of-factly, cutting off the reprimand poised on her sister's lips. "That is, if you're still up to it."

The goading was hardly necessary, for even with her lip pursed in consternated debate, her choice was all but predetermined.

"Fine."

The one-word agreement was given up as easily as a molar, but it mattered little to Ruby.

"Great! Best prep your stuff now and get some rest. I hope you all finished your homework, because it's going to be another late-night tonight!"

* * *

With a burbling groan and much complaining Naruto woke from his slumber. A lethargic arm slid across his eyes to block out the glaring crimson numbers on his alarm. He didn't want to know what time it was anyway. It didn't matter, and he would have to get up.

This was normal. Had become so. Not exactly what he would anticipate his life turning out like, but then again, he never really thought that far ahead. As of right then, he was just trying to reach his light-switch without tripping over something.

*Crash!* "OW!"

Now fully awake and clutching his big toe, Naruto flipped on the overhead and recoiled away from the overwhelming brightness, nearly tripping again over the same obstacle.

"Stupid scythe…"

That was what he was still getting used to. If only it could fold like _Crescent Rose_.

What would he call it anyway? It needed a name, surely. Might as well try and think of one since he had plenty of time on his hands. Wouldn't be good to stray too far from his apartment, for he knew he was going to pass out again soon enough.

Propping the blade against his western-style bed, he was careful not to touch any of the obsidian-sharp edge (it was actually a miracle he hadn't injured himself more stumbling around in the dark). Sitting cross-legged on his bamboo floor, he stared at the menacing blade with a blood-vessel-popping intensity.

It was big. It was scary. Come to think of it, Ruby's weapon was pretty foreboding, wasn't it? Even a name like _Crescent Rose_ could not disguise its true nature. So unlike the girl, and yet it was undeniably hers as this was now his, regardless of its murky history.

" **Why not 'Claw'?"** I added my two-cents after noticing that the drone of thought had stopped.

"Kyῡbi? When did you get here?" Naruto asked with impatience to mask his surprise. "Since when can you talk to me? -And no, we're not calling it that."

" **Since I decided to, brat**." I informed him with I admit a bit of smugness. " **Besides, what's wrong with it? The names you give your weapons seem pretty arbitrary to me. I just thought it was appropriate.** "

I explained how the name referred to the shape, much as Ruby's own. And that it would only be honorable if he acceded to my suggestion.

It was a rather flattering save if I do say so myself. Honestly, it a random thought which sounded sort of 'pointy', and I thought I heard grumblings of a similar nature under his breath.

" **But don't you think you should be doing something more useful with your time? I don't know, like working on** _ **that**_ **technique?** " His scrunched brow told me he was actually considering the name I had put forward, but I didn't want him to get too hung up of such trivialities.

"This is important." He insisted. "A name carries meaning, gives purpose." Funny that he had yet to ask me mine. "And just wait a minute- if you can talk to me, can you talk to Ruby as well?"

I told him I was working on it, shutting him out soon afterwards.

I meant what I said, and hoped he could parse out for himself that I wanted the goal just as much as he. It would have been good if he went back to more relevant studies after that, and maybe I should have trusted him on his own time. That didn't mean I wasn't going to watch over him, though. I am capable of doing more than one thing.

He stayed up all night, of course, staring at that weapon which more and more resembled a claw to me. It wasn't until the first fingers of sunlight crept in through the window did his eyes begin to droop, and he was relieved in his vigil.

Against my better judgment, the affair began to fester in my mind. For something that didn't matter, it was a grating thing being so indecisive. Naruto was surprisingly insightful with his words. In the end, what would be the name of that rose?

In the end, would I grow tired of waiting for them to ask _my_ name, would I have to take that first step?

* * *

"Go ahead and freeze that lock."

The order was completed, not without its share of sideways glances and stubborn hostility which by then were becoming rather irritating. Before Ruby could reach out and pluck the brittle metal off the hinge like a ripe strawberry, she jerked her hand back to keep it from being pinned there by the needling point.

"Before we go in there," Ruby refused to meet her partner's baleful stare, denying its validity. "I need to know. Did Ozpin give you strict orders on this mission? Did he specifically ask me to partner with you?"

No way around it, Ruby looked her frienimy in the face with a piercing stare she could tell made Weiss uncomfortable and told the truth.

"No."

It was an admission of mistrust, not only for the operation itself, but for her partner. If worse came to worse, and the you-know-what hit the you-know-what, then Ruby would prefer to have two people she could trust on the outside to bail her out if necessary. As disheartening as it was, back then she couldn't rely on the other girl not to leave her in the lurch in that scenario, and thus wanted her chained at the hip.

Surprisingly, Weiss nodded in acceptance before quietly prying open the cloudy skylight and slipping into the darkness.

There was no doubt that the same thoughts had passed through her head. Otherwise, she would not have asked the question. However, it seemed that she either appreciated the candor, or respected the calculated decision.

That, or she had similar thoughts about her leader's reliability. As insulting as the doubt might have been, Ruby took no offense as she followed swiftly after her partner, padding along silently on the metal catwalk. What awaited them in the warehouse would surely cure her of the notion.

"Ick! This place is filthy-Mfph!"

Icy daggers glared out from the darkness as Ruby clamped a hand on Weiss's mouth, a finger pressed to her own lips.

"Get your hands off of me-!"

Ruby complied with a wide-spread show of disarmament, but continued her shushing stare with a look of admonishment that made Weiss bristle. No surprise that the girl didn't like being told to keep quiet, and to have it delivered by someone who she still considered her inferior was unacceptable.

"Look- If we're going to work together-"

"Weiss." There was a clear distinction between the earnest suggestion previous and the voice Ruby used now. The former required a hand to silence, this only needed a whisper.

" _ **Shut up**_ **."**

It was a weighted decision to partner up with Weiss for this task. Just as it was for me to slip the tiniest hints of my influence through that rift. There was no question how dangerous riling Ruby up could be, but the annoying one needed to be silent. For in that moment, I thought I heard something.

"Move!"

The older girl's face never had time to release itself from the jaw-dropping shock as Ruby barreled into her, tackling the two of them out of the way as a rocket careened into the suspended catwalk.

The blast blew all the skylights outward and sent them tumbling over one another across the cheese-grater metal. Ears were still ringing when their Aura began to restore sensation to their battered limbs from being dragged across the corrugated gangway. Hearing returned just in time to catch the stomach-churning sound of metal whining under the strain of its own weight, jerking out from underneath them seconds later with a shriek like a banshee.

By then they were fully geared up though, and their eardrums hadn't been damaged enough to throw off their sense of balance when they leapt from the folding walkway into the wide open center of the large building.

"Incoming!"

Sense of stealth lost anyway, Ruby issued a giddy war-cry as she caught movement far below, angling herself towards the shapes with her cape acting like a rudder.

The man's ironically ruby-red sunglasses reflected the tread of her boot as the last thing before her foot shattered them- along with the man's nose and likely jaw if the multiple snaps she heard were correct.

"Hiya!"

Standing up after just flattening one of their comrades like the pancakes that Nora so adored, Ruby waved nonchalantly to the dozen or so identically dressed henchmen (for what else _could_ they be with their charcoal pinstripe suits, matching fedoras and gaudy eyewear?).

Whatever else might be said about their quality, they didn't immediately retreat after her entrance. Though that could be because these people were more used to the classical idea of power: gangsters and murderers and giant monsters. I should know.

To me, nothing was quite as frightening as the pure confidence exuded from her right then. The speck of essence I lent her had long since burned off and this was all her, maybe taking a page from Naruto but making it her own like those dreaded puppy-dog-eyes. She didn't even need her scythe to be drawn to be seen as a vengeful specter descending from the heavens to smite the wrongdoers.

"Ooph!"

-And then there was Weiss, who completely ruined the building atmosphere by landing hard on one of her heels and snapping the post, keeling over onto her rump in a most undignified manner.

"Ugh!" Ruby threw her hand into the air in frustration. "You ruined it!"

"Now, now, I wouldn't say that quite yet."

There was a crackling buzz like a swarm of flies as old electric lamps flicked on, following the sticky-sweet sound of the new voice. Ruby suddenly found herself in the spotlight as the men around her backed away from center-stage. One hand shielding her eyes, she squinted into the patchy darkness, never losing the cocksure smile plastered on her face.

"A little rough around the edges, I'd still say this is _quite_ the performance so far. Admittedly I'm not normally one for high-school plays. Or is this a side-show act?"

The dripping arrogance and flippant attitude were more noticeable than all the illuminated thugs, and she homed in on their source through the blinding light being directed at her. It laughed a waltz in two-step as hand-crafted leather shoes tacked their way down a set of metal steps.

"Truly this is a surprise. I though for sure the cops'd caught on to us and would send some poor, boring saps to investigate and we'd have to… _deter_ them from poking their noses where they don't belong."

Realizing what kind of danger they had suddenly found themselves in, Weiss quickly cast off her busted footwear and backed her way to Ruby's side, the goons parting to allow her access to that stalwart lighthouse, still standing stock still with a beaming grin on her face.

"You see, I really like this place, and I'd like to keep it if at all possible. Do you know how _hard_ it is to find somewhere in the right neighborhood, with the right atmosphere, for the right price, where people won't come **snooping** around all the time?" The man chortled, waltzing into one of the patches of illumination without a care. "What am I talking about? You're just kids, probably still living at home with your mommies and daddies. You've got no idea what kind of rough and tumble world _real_ life is like."

Either not noticing or not caring that both she and Weiss were armed, nothing was lost on Ruby as she sought out the face to match the voice in the drama that was being acted out.

Or was it a farce? For this was none other than Roman Torchwick, the mugshot far more flattering than this pasty-faced ginger whose tongue was not quite as sharp as his dress. The wanted poster which had flashed by on screen in the Bullhead over to Beacon, just before Glynda's holographic intro, must have been from several years prior. If nothing else, the time had healed the bruises. Though it had done nothing to abrade the greasiness, which only seemed even more intense in person.

"Come to think of it-" He stopped, cane coming to a clacking halt as he placed a contemplative finger on his chin. "-what **are** two kiddies doing out here so late? How did you get in here?"

"Through the roof. Duh." Ruby stated with a derisive huff before her partner could do anything but look at her with withering scorn.

"Cute." His chuckles were fake regardless that it was impossible to tell if he meant so now. "But seriously: what are two young and impressionable ladies such as yourselves doing poking around the warehouse district? Didn't your parents ever warn you not to stay out at night?"

"My parents also warned me not to talk to strangers, so… you're kind of stuck there." By this time Weiss would have strangled her captain had there not been the very real possibility of needing her help to escape this increasingly worrying scenario.

"Oh, but my dear, I'm not some mere stranger. I'm your friendly neighborhood malefactor- why, even that's being a little harsh. You seem like the type of girl into fairy tales. I'm more of a Robin-Hood archetype than anything else. My name's Roman Torchwick, and now that we have that established, we need your names to seal the deal, hmm?"

There was no minding the threatening glare seen out of the corner of her eye by her partner, warning her not to divulge anything. It really didn't matter at this point, now that the man had seen their faces. We couldn't let them escape, anyway.

"Hmm… no thanks. My parents said that strangers are just friends you haven't met yet… but I think I prefer you as a stranger."

"I don't think you quite understand the situation here, dearie." With a flick of his cane, the diorama of droogs slowly came to life, lumbering closer to them. "You see, I'm not a bad guy- well, I kind of am, but I prefer not to get my hands dirty if I can help it. But you're not exactly making that easy for me. So why don't we avoid heartache all around and just cooperate, huh? Just come along and we can have a nice chat, maybe with some milk and cookies?"

"Stay back!" Weiss had by this time exhausted her patience and drew _Myrtenaster_ with a flick of her wrist, leveling it at a handful of henchmen who decided to take a cautionary step back.

"Ooh, now that's interesting." Roman turned his focus to the other girl for the first time, giving her a predatory look which was surely a hundred times worse than all the sycophants and leaches populating her father's blue-blood parties. "You two aren't just lost little girls are you? Come to think of it, you look kind of familiar." He jabbed his spun aluminum cane with perfunctory white tip at the Schnee Heiress. "Where have I seen you? Magazine somewhere? TV? Hmm, not knowing just makes me even more curious as to who sent you."

"Konoha!" Ruby blurted out, lassoing attention towards her once again. A strange and not altogether smart thing to say, it did have the desired effect of eschewing attention from her partner. "We're ninjas sent by the Konohagakure, the Village Hidden in the Leaves."

Never having been in this kind of situation before, did the pressure perhaps get to her? Or did she just enjoy seeing the perplexed looks on all the adult faces?

"Your friend's a little slow, isn't she?" This, redirected back at the white-haired girl who now looked more embarrassed than frightened.

"No, I'm fast."

Torchwick blinked, for the moment that he turned his attention away from the girl in red, she had disappeared. And the chillingly coy response wafted like icy breath on the back of his neck.

"What-?!"

Even before stumbling in his attempt to turn around and confront the impossibly fast girl, the man knew he was dead. There was an eternity in which to listen to the bladed weapon uncoil and slice through the metal staircase like butter. The only thing Roman Torchwick could think of in that moment was how he didn't get paid nearly enough for this crap.

*Cling!*

"Fuck! They're huntresses!"

Perhaps realized a little too late, the career criminal still managed to blurt this out as he vaulted over the handrail and onto the warehouse floor, death staved off for just a moment by the impeccable timing of his partner. He quickly whipped up his black-lacquered cane to direct the tip-turned muzzle at Ruby, but held back as she was kept in a deadlock by his bodyguard-cum-confident.

Ruby blinked at the introduction of this new player, a girl, not unlike her in stature was fending off _Crescent Rose_ with a blade no thicker than a pencil drawn forth from a parasol. In between frames, she could have sworn that the pink eyes now staring at her had at first been brown, or was it white? Or perhaps some combination of the three, like her opponent's hair?

"What are you guys waiting for? An invitation? Get them!"

At that signal, Ruby slid both of their weapons downward, blasting an explosive round into the landing as she leapt over the human impediment. Her target was still Torchwick, as it was obvious he had the information they sought.

Noticing the pouncing creature, the man stopped retreating and redirected his weapon back on the red and black target.

Before she could even begin to deal with what was most likely a similar rocket as had surprised them before, Torchwick diverted his attention to the immediate issue of the other girl rushing at him with a skewering thrust.

The missile flew astray, and Ruby cursed as Weiss got in her path, forcing her to the ground prematurely as the explosion knocked a few more metal chunks from the dilapidated roof.

Crouched low to the ground like an animal, she growled like one at her partner now engaging Roman in a loose duel where the man held his own by brutalizing the girl's precision strikes. There was no time to be preoccupied with this, however, as the dolled-up henchmen rushed her with red machetes to match their glasses.

" _Out of my way!_ "

Not expecting such a burst of speed despite the prior evidence, three goons were instantly taken out by a single blow sweeping their legs. Leaping over these, another one became ensnared in a slow swoop which caught him up and hurled him at his cohorts, knocking a half-dozen over like bowling pins. A brutal backhand clotheslined the next, and she threw herself over a low tackle from behind. Slamming the butt of her scythe into another's gut and heaving the man over her head to toss him at the nearest group who crumbled under their comrade's weight.

Standing upright with a twirl of her menacing weapon, she had no chance to appreciate the semi-stunned looks on the dial-a-crooks before she stepped out with an upward swing to parry the eerily silent stab to her back. With her blade over her head, she brought it down on top of the diminutive woman who held it at bay with almost no visible strain.

"You're pretty good, aren't you?" Ruby asked with a cockeyed smile that leaked a little bit of savagery.

The only reply she got was an almost-mirrored smirk which seemed to say 'same to you', before the other woman ghosted around her blade to strike low to her thigh. Batting this away with the haft, Ruby twirled low to reciprocate the gesture before completing the 720 and striking high when the other one jumped to avoid. A move reminiscent of the Konoha Senpῡ, which succeeded at least in knocking the other woman back when she was forced to block mid-air.

With that distraction out of the way, Ruby shot after her partner, coming up behind Torchwick before he could ever know she was there and bludgeoning him on the back of his head.

"What'd you do that for?!"

Ruby ignored the indignant remark as she turned around and started shooting at the man's more-skilled partner as she rushed over to stop them. Nailing her good in the chest with a standard round, she was confident the multi-colored swordswoman was down for the count, but lingered on her crumpled form for a few seconds before daring to appraise the situation.

"What the hell, Ruby?! He was mine!" Weiss was not letting the interruption of her 'match' go, and forced her captain to look at her with an arm latched around her bicep.

Both the childish indignation and the weak grip were broken effortlessly as Ruby shrugged off her partner's accusation.

"This isn't a _**game**_ , Weiss."

Whereas Ruby's words were childish and broad, her thoughts were focused like a hand-lens. It was opposite with Weiss, who had yet to begin to take their duty to heart, or even to mind.

She already had the appropriate expression on her face when Ruby slapped her out of the way harshly. Though getting shoved was by far a more preferable outcome than getting impaled by that parasol-blade, the razor edge skittering noisily against the scythe the captain injected between the two.

"I didn't hit you!"

Ruby sounded more ecstatic than upset with this revelation, finding someone who could keep her on her toes at long last and who appeared to have similar abilities as her own.

There was no playfully silent banter between them this time. Not only was she totally unscathed by the shot, but her visage had re-solidified into a stony ferocity. And this time, Ruby _certainly_ remembered those hateful brown eyes being rosy pink. She wasn't going crazy.

Well, not yet, anyway.

"Gotcha, Red!"

Now that one noticed, however, perhaps those eyes were a distraction, a trap like narcissus's pond or the legendary Sharingan. For in that moment of reflection, Ruby misplaced herself and allowed Roman to get up behind her back, locking his arms under her shoulders around the back of her head.

Where was Weiss?!

"Now, Neo! Finish her!"

Like Ruby, this girl now appropriately named Neo, allowed herself to savor the victory a modicum too long before she struck. Long enough for Ruby's partner to reacquaint herself with the battle, thrusting both of their blades down low and forcing the other girl back with superior poise and precision.

Not one to ever waist an opportunity, Ruby seized this chance to coil herself into her chest and spring outwards again with a violent upward kick.

"Eep!"

However unlikely it was that the man was getting up after having her booted foot having jammed hard on his 'on-off' button, she was taking no chances. With a half-turn on her heel, she slapped him upside the head with the flat of _Crescent Rose_ like a golf ball.

Then she turned to her partner's fencing match, long enough to decide that she couldn't intervene this time. Not out of consideration for a 'fair' match, but because she saw the panicked look in her opponent's eye as she loomed over the defeated Torchwick. Now was as good a time as any.

Fishing a red-tipped round from a single loop sewn into her leggings, she popped it in the chamber of _Crescent Rose_ and shot it off towards one of the ruptured skylights. A long, crimson streak followed it upward into the night sky where it exploded like a firework.

This was their signal for Blake and her sister to come as backup. Assuming that Torchwick hadn't brought any more goons with him, it would be nice to have some extra bodies to pin down the bullish Neo who insisted on continuing to fight- even more desperately than before as she recognized the urgency behind that single flare.

The girl went berserk and threw out all decorum, actually grabbing the tip of _Myrtenaster_ and yanking Weiss towards her so she could deliver a vindictive knee to the girl's crotch (something which I can assure from experience is equally unpleasant for the female as the male).

Suppressing a wince and a growl as she saw it happen, Ruby crouched defensively over the unconscious criminal and started unloading at the only body still upright. That unearthly rumbling in her chest only grew as was continually unable to hit the slippery woman. Neo kept appearing to get hit by her pinpoint accuracy, only to shatter the illusion a moment later when a sixth sense told her to place another round downrange.

At least she was keeping the girl away from the downed Weiss, though. But the longer this carnival game went on, the more nervous she was getting with the fact that their teammates hadn't arrived yet. And her minimal accoutrement of ammunition was running low.

With the next frustrating shot Neo failed to reappear, and a sinking dread grabbed Ruby as she nervously scanned the dim chamber.

No land-bound being ever seemed to look upwards for danger, so this is exactly what Ruby did. Like a bird of prey Neo perched herself on a crossbeam, Roman's cane cradled in one hand while her parasol hung off the other. A dangerously coy smile that Ruby recognized on her face.

Fear and anger both burbled in Ruby's gut as Neo raised the disguised rocket-launcher. Not pointing it at her, but the simpering Weiss who was still clueless with her head to the ground to avoid the friendly fire.

No thought was required for Ruby to shoot off towards her comrade, keeping just ahead of the missile which already had a good head start. She scooped the body up without halting her Semblance and crashed into one of the metal loading-bay doors as a result. But her throbbing head and shoulders were the least of her worries as the projectile detonated upon contact with the ground.

No windows to allow decompression, the concrete floor propagated the concussive blast throughout the room. Blinding the both of them and almost launching them out the loading dock as the shuttered doors buckled and bulged and were nearly blown off their hinges.

Being thrown clear would have been better, for in that moment they were like toddling infants crawling around on all fours, blind and deaf to the structure caving down all around them. The beleaguered walkway had seen enough abuse and was now letting go from its supporting struts, bolts snapping like twigs.

Ruby regained awareness just in time to notice the moribund groan as the metal dove down upon them. She had unfortunately dropped _Crescent Rose_ when they were blasted away and had no time to retrieve it. So it was with an almost forlorn resign that she raised her hands to the sky against the weight of the world coming to crush them, for all the good it might do.

A part of her might have lamented Naruto's absence at that moment, longed for him to come and save her. But an even greater part of her despaired her own helplessness, the fact that no matter how hard she seemed to try, the universe always seemed to be against her. Naruto might have felt that he wasn't fast enough, but he had means to game the system. Where was her cheat-code?

That despair quickly turned to frustration, then to rage, all within the few seconds it took for the axe to drop. She screamed a denial into the sky so that it might reach the shattered moon, or even the broken gods which watched over them.

I'd like to take credit for what happened next, but alas this is another one of those things which yet remain a mystery. Though my influence might have had something to do with it, the power had long been coopted by the strong-willed woman who had molded it into something of her own.

Like that moment back at the cliff, there was a crimson lightning bolt which descended from the heavens, cleaving the walkway in half before it could impact the two huntresses.

This is the way I describe it, but it is perhaps a misconception as lighting travels both ways. It smites from the sky just as much as it is hurled back into the clouds. This was perhaps the latter, and that ionizing bolt of crimson electricity spawned from her energetic fury, rejecting all gods and man who would not stoop to save her in her moment of need.

Regardless, it was nothing short of divine.

The two pieces of molten metal and accompanying slag fell to either side of the two, parting like a curtain. Ruby breathed heavy, staring at the glassy fulgurite under her feet and feeling the stars twinkling on the back of her head through the gap in the now open ceiling.

"You…"

Weiss was still gasping for breath just as hard even though she hadn't done anything, staring at Ruby with what might have been awe, possibly horror, or maybe some kind of twisted combination of the two which we can call 'respect'.

As she noticed the presence of her partner though, Ruby reawakened to the knowledge of others in the building. Ignoring the groaning and possibly flattened bodies of the henchmen strewn about, she scanned the debris field looking for two in particular. She cursed and let herself collapse onto the still scalding-hot ground when she realized they were gone.

"Damnit." She muttered, hoping no one other than Naruto had heard her and praying that he didn't bring it up.

"Ruby!"

There wasn't even energy left in her to turn her head at the call, still holding a conversation with the hissing and popping ground.

"Ruby! Are you alright?! Speak to me!"

"Five more minutes, please."

She mumbled, weakly donking her sister in the nose as she tried to shut her off like an alarm clock.

"Rubes!"

"Yang! Can't. Breath!"

"Come on now, partner. Can't go killing your sister after we rescue her, can we?"

Blake rolled her eyes at the sibling's carrying on before turning to the oddly quiet Weiss. "You okay?"

"Yeah…" She began tentatively, trying to lift herself to her feet before letting out a painful hiss when she put weight on her right leg.

"Weiss…"

Released from her sister's crushing embrace and propped up, Ruby could see the unintended consequences of her desperate actions. The perfectly pale skin from Weiss's ankle to her calf was now puckered and torn, blisters raised and popped from the proximity to the intense heat. There was even the possibility of muscle underneath the seared flesh poking out, but no one wanted to look too closely.

"Weiss, I am so sorry…"

Ruby was on the verge of tears and reaching out for her partner desperately, fully prepared to be rebuked harshly and painfully, receiving as good as she gave.

"Don't worry about it."

"Huh?"

But Weiss was not looking at her distraught captain, and rather at the hulking and twisted skeletons of metal heaped all around them. Busy reminiscing on her own uselessness.

"It's just a scratch. Don't worry about it."

Clenching her jaw so that the sound of teeth grinding could drown out her pained whimpers, she slapped away an offered hand from Blake so that she could stand on her own two feet. Well, her own feet plus _Myrtenaster_. Once more-or-less upright, she leaned heavily on her sword to catch her breath before attempting anything else.

"I'm just…annoyed… that we let… those two… escape."

"Who says we did?"

Blake jerked on the hand which had rested to her side the entire time, calling forth- or rather dragging into the flickering light a bound and gagged Neo, hogtied to the dead weight which was Roman Torchwick, just barely coming out of consciousness.

"I told her this was a bad plan… any plan in which you lose your hat is a bad plan…" he lamented to his partner groggily, seemingly to the small woman's intense ire.

"You caught them?" Ruby asked a tad too dumbfounded, standing up with little support from her sister.

"Of course." Yang puffed her chest out pridefully. "Couldn't let you have all the fun." A sweeping hand to the utter destruction and chaos, bodies strewn everywhere that no one wanted to check and see were unconscious or otherwise.

"Not much fun in this…" Ruby muttered darkly. Not bemoaning their success, but reminding all of them that amusement was not the reason they took missions.

And that there was never any glory in death.

"Lighten up." Blake surprised them all with her admonishment. "It looks like we caught the culprits behind the dust robberies, so we can pretty much call this case-closed when we deliver these two to the authorities."

"And how do you plan to do that, exactly?" Weiss gestured to her bum leg and then to the prisoners who would in no way be able to hobble themselves the long march to the police station. "Furthermore, how do you think we're going to explain this to them, hmm? I mean, sure Torchwick is a known criminal, but we're just Beacon students, and I highly doubt Ozpin will admit to sending us out on this kind of job."

Ruby would have denied that unfair estimation of their headmaster, but knew that it would be hypocritical. It was true that Ozpin _hadn't_ officially recorded their missions, and she was surprised her partner figured that out.

But if she knew they weren't getting credit for them, why then did she come along?

Wailing sirens in the distance freed them all from having to make this choice. A collective groan and even a little bit of relief overtaking the overstressed students.

"Well, might as well get this over with." Yang declared, plopping herself down on a horizontally bent piece of pipe.

"Want me to take a look at that leg for you?" Blake offered.

"…Alright." The prideful woman relented after a pause in which to consider the severity of pain. Chances were there wasn't any, which meant that the burn was rather serious, deep enough to damage nerves. Stiff upper-lip aside, she'd probably prefer not to be laid out for days afterwards with an infection.

Blake nodded and looped the other end of her ribbon around a sturdy piece of rebar, turning back to her captives with a commanding tone. "Stay."

"Hardy-har." Roman slurred while Neo silently seethed, Ruby just then noticing the rather large bruise on her jaw.

"You know something?" Torchwick called out over his shoulder in a moment of surprising lucidity. "I'm not going to stay locked-up for long, that I promise. But I got this inkling that you four are going to be a constant thorn in my side from now on. Especially you, Red." He chuckled, teasing out another moan from his nether regions. "I don't rightfully know why… just a feeling. But just so you know, next time I'm not going to show you brats any mercy. You can bet on that."

While the threat earned the battered man no few glares from the rest of the team, it was lost on the one for which it was intended, Ruby already quickly falling asleep curled protectively around the form of _Crescent Rose_.

* * *

"Did you stay up all night again?" It was the loud sigh afterwards that made his eyes flutter open and gaze at his mottled stucco ceiling. "What are we going to do with you?"

"Make me breakfast?"

There was a light tapping on the top of his skull with a familiar piece of metal.

"Ow."

" _Please_ ," He could feel Tenten rolling her eyes. He sat up.

"Did she keep you up all night again?"

"No. Not really."

He replied honestly, eye twitching as he found Tenten fondling his scythe. Declining to comment though, since it was her handy-work, instead he made his way into the kitchen robotically, not needing the brain cells she kept destroying to start his day.

"She had a mission last night." The comment made offhandedly as he rummaged through his cabinets that were worryingly barren of ramen.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Did a bang-up job, apparently." Finding two in the way back, he let out a sigh of relief and dragged himself out of the cubby.

"Knowing you, I take that to be literal."

"More or less." He again admitted with a shrug of his shoulders and a small grin that was all the energy he had first thing in the morning. Climbing down from the counters and setting the cups down in his place, he turned around to clear the table of any drawings that had not been put away. Only when he did, he found a moderately barren surface apart from a neat wicker basket set down in the center.

"Tenten?"

"Hmm?"

"What's this?" He pointed to the foreign object worrisomely, as if it possibly contained a jack-in-the-box that was going to leap out at him (what? Those things are creepy!).

The woman quit futzing with the knots and welds of the weapon to smile at him cheekily.

"Breakfast."

Pausing in his otherwise routine preparations, he swiveled his body to look at her staring at him with silently laughing eyes, glittering in the sunlight filtering down through his window.

"Did I mention how radiant you look today?"

"Flattery will get you nowhere, mister."

Shaking his head with a bemused chuckle, he went back to prepping the hot water for tea alone when he stopped suddenly in his actions. In all the years she had been coming by to drag him out of bed for training, missions, or just to hang out, this was the first time she had declined the obligatory serving of noodles.

"I told you that she had a mission today." He reminded himself. "Yesterday. That's why the breakfast. It's for her?"

"Figured we'd ought to celebrate somehow."

With mock hurt and very real reluctance, Naruto lifted back the napkin covering the contents.

"You've never made me cake."

"You don't like cake."

"Not really, no. Too sweet." He pulled the rudimentary dessert out of the basket anyway, setting it on the table and turned back around to look for the appropriate silverware. "It's the thought that counts though. Or in this case, the lack of it."

"There should be a knife and some forks in there already." She informed him after sticking her tongue out behind his back at the facetious jibe.

He stuck his head in and rummaged around for a bit. "Figures." The comment made looking at the utensils which could have been armament themselves with how sturdy they were built.

"Here, let me."

Already by his side, she leaned over and started to doll out individual slices with her usual effortless precision. The rectangular yellow Castella quickly going through mitosis. Meanwhile, he took a back seat and admired her handiwork. First at the uninspiring baked-good and then to the scythe she had brought into the kitchen nook, leaning it against the close wall as if to accompany them in celebration.

"First up." She handed him a loaded plate which he took with a nod before serving herself one exactly as large and sitting down across from him.

"Make a wish?"

"How 'bout: to new adventures?"

"Works for me."

No candles were blown out like what he had lived through before, no bright decorations or singing family members, no presents with colorful wrapping and idyllically curled bows. And yet, the feeling was still there.

"It's missing something…" Tenten was the only one to point this out, though.

"What?"

She looked dismally at the too-large fork resting on her plate.

"Sugar."

Pausing before his second bite, he appraised the spongy morsel before shrugging and completing the action. Chewed, then swallowed.

"Maybe." He didn't really like sweet things. There was no sugar at all in this, and it was still barely palatable. "I think you might want to stick to weapons in the future."

"That, and ramen." She agreed, glaring at the yellowy hunk as if considering setting it on fire.

"Of course." Absently finishing off another bite (food was food), he glanced back at what was officially her masterpiece.

"What're you going to name it?" She asked, looking for any excuse to ignore the unappetizing brick in front of her.

"Mm. You know, I was thinking about it last night while I was awake."

"Did Ruby have any suggestions?"

He shook his head negatively, though there was a small smile still on his lips at how normal this had become in such a short amount of time. There was still a long way to go, and at least two more people he needed to tell in short order. But now was time for cake. And conversation.

Tenten would throw out a couple of suggestions, all of them half-hearted and equally rejected on both sides. He even told her my suggestion, to which she looked a little more interested, but still reluctant.

Since they had long since abandoned the unappealing comestible, I soon lost interest. Or maybe I just pretended to, because I still desired to see if they would ask that all-important question. Frighteningly, it seemed as if my own name was slipping from my mind as the spoke.

The longer the inane conversation drew on, however, the more my ire with both him and myself increased.

" **Are you** _ **trying**_ **to be a thorn in my paw?** " The question came naturally with my irritation, and I only remembered later from whence it came.

"Thorn?"

"What's up, Naruto?"

I think the name came to us at near the same time, a remote thought acting at an impossible distance to touch us both.

"Every Rose needs its thorns." He said with a small smile.

"I think I'll call it: _Radiant Thorn_."

* * *

 **It's funny, throughout both my attempts at a Naruto x RWBY crossover, everyone always comments on how Ozpin doesn't seem trustworthy. I totally get that, but isn't he like, kind of sketchy to begin with? I mean, without even knowing what we all now (hopefully) know, his attitude just spells 'shady' if you are the least bit cynical.**

 **And a couple of vocab words toady. I can't believe no one has used the term 'droogs' yet, considering Roman Torchwick himself is based off a Clockwork Orange. So much messed-up goodness in that one. And no, I don't hate Torchwick, and neither is he or the lovely Neo out of the game just yet. Although I love how the show disposed of him so anticlimactically, I feel that he was underused as a villain.**

 **And one for my major, a fulgurite is a glassy rock made when lightning strikes sand, literally nature making glass. They usually come out as a barbell shape, because of the point-charge nature of lightning strikes squeezes material to either side. But in this case, I guess it's more like a crushed Fig-Newton?**

 **With the topic of desserts, Castella is one of the 'traditional' Japanese confections (if you can even call it that). It was brought over by the Portuguese (along with Tempura, shockingly enough means tempera, like the paint) to Nagasaki (the only town AUTHORIZED to deal with foreign visitors). Mostly dry in my opinion, best served with tea and jam if you have it. Literally means castle, because it's very square and looks almost like a bread loaf.**


	24. ABSOLUTELY NOT A CHAPTER (Xenographicum)

**Hey y'all! I'm back! And I only died twice!**

 **Man, oh man, I cannot tell you how absolutely inspiring and frightening all the reception for this story is! I love it, and I dread that I won't be able to keep living up to your expectations.**

 **Ah well, no other choice than to keep writing then, I suppose?**

 **Before we go any farther, just want you to know that THIS IS NOT A CHAPTER. This is just filler and a quick bit of humor and other miscellanea which I kept meaning to toss in but continually forgot about… sorry. So yeah, just treat this as an appetizer for the next chapter which is coming out either tonight or tomorrow (I promise).**

 **Furthermore, please give a shoutout to** **Drag0n5on** **who wrote the musical number in the middle of this Omake WAAAAY back when at the beginning of this story. I owe him and you an apology for delaying this to the point where it became anything but cannon. But never let it be said to be inconsequential, just one of the many paths not explored for this premise. The song is the first Opening to 'Bleach', so enjoy, and if you like it, send your thanks his way.**

 **And if you want a great story that's TOTALLY different than this one, check out some of his works including** **UMPR(UMBER)** **in this same section.**

 **Lastly, to people who ask questions, I am happy to answer, but make sure that I can respond to you directly, or else it's unlikely that I'll put a reply in the AN (not trying to be a dick, just can't remember when I'm writing it). But to the guest reviewer last time who was asking about Ruby's new ability: no. Of course, the whole thing is the Kyuubi's responsibility, but is it a manifestation of his power? Or rather something she is developing with that connection?**

 **And as always, happy to chat, just send me a PM if you really need a response.**

 **On with the madness!**

* * *

"Good morning, Miss Rose."

A good morning indeed, not that she could appreciate it. Beautiful sunshine sitting behind iron bars ever out of reach and her defenses whittled away to apathy which couldn't appreciate it anyway.

"Now, now, no need to look so glum." The faceless doctor replied in a pre-packaged voice. "Today I think we're going to have the breakthrough we've been looking for all this time."

This did earn a response from Ruby, a pained flinch as if bitten. What other torture did they have for her this time? More medicine to make her sick to her stomach and her hair fall out? Another quack to tell her that everything she knew to be true was a product of her deranged mind? That rumored electric therapy which some of the elder patients still mumbled about in their absent deliriums?

"The department head was contacted by a foreign specialist who claims to have experience in… extracting selective things from people's heads." Eyeing the man out of the corner of her eye as he absently flipped through the clipboard of paperwork by her bedside, scanning the night nurse's notes. She briefly toyed with the idea of taking the hidden kunai necklace she had hidden away and stabbing the man in the neck. But where would she go from there? What was the point anymore? "I'm told she has an excellent track record… even if she is a little _eccentric_."

Perhaps curiosity is what truly stayed her hand, apathy not completely overcoming that desire to live and see what came next.

An unaccustomed noise, a putting like a lawnmower drowned out the birdcalls outside her window. Even with throttle gunning it, the engine sounded anemic. Nonetheless it somehow proved more arresting than an entire army at the doorstep.

"Hm? Oh, I do believe that she's arrived. I'm amazed that she made it here that quickly though, and on a scooter no less…"

Barely overcoming her lethargy, Ruby did something she hardly ever dared to anymore. She leaned over to the window by her bedside, taking in the sight of the open air which was denied her for so long. The scene that she tried to banish from her mind of that immaculately green lawn, intruded upon by a garishly yellow scooter that would have been more her sister's fancy if Yang were less of a speed-freak.

"Oh dear," The generic doctor adjusted his spectacles while looking at the same scene. "The director isn't going to be happy with what she did to the lawn…" Scooter parked obtrusively in the dead center amidst a bullseye of ruts gouged from drifts and turnouts which had somehow been accomplished without anyone noticing. No sign of the driver, though. "Huh? Where did she…"

"YO!"

It was the most emotion Ruby had shown in months, ever since her outburst had gotten her locked up in a padded room and dressed to the nines in a straightjacket. She took advantage of her free limbs now, one hand clutching her racing hear and her feet bunching up the sheets in her blind bid to escape the intruder.

"How'ya doin? I'm doctor Haruhara, and I'm here to take care of your incontinence problem!"

The resemblance the woman bore to a certain pink-haired kunoichi did not make it any easier to banish the startled look from her face. Even with her manic smile and facetious salute (or, in light of them), Ruby did not feel comfortable under her stare which was closer to that of the patients than the doctors.

"Umm, excuse me, but I don't think that's why you're here."

Ironically startled by the meek voice of the doctor correcting her diagnosis, the pink-haired woman turned as if noticing the easily forgettable face for the first time before winding up into a frenzy.

"How dare you! I know what I am doing! I am too a legit doctor! See?!"

Brandishing the nametag on her lab coat didn't do anything to quell their anxiety.

"I hate to accuse you of anything, but that's very clearly not yours."

"What? Further insults?! How dare you?!"

Letting go of the shiny metal nameplate which very clearly read 'Smith', the irate woman took up the squarish man by his lapels and pressed her increasingly disturbed stare right up next to his.

"I don't have time for this nonsense! I have places to cure, patients to go! So out **you** go!"

And with that she tossed the flabbergasted man out the door which slammed shut behind him.

"-Now! To deal with you!"

The strange lady had managed to accomplish one thing in the scant amount of time at the institution, and that was surmounting Ruby's apathy towards life by presenting something even more terrifying than all the tests and programs she'd been subjected to thus far.

Try as she might to escape during this opportunity, the woman stood between her and the door. Even if it was preferable to try and gnaw her way through the iron bars on her window rather than subject herself to this dangerous insanity, she doubted she'd make sufficient progress. Instead, she hid herself in the far corner under her bed, wary of what this innocuously strong woman could do.

"Hey now, what's all this? I'm not going to hurt you, why don't you just come out of there, eh?"

Against better judgement, Ruby inched her way from the darkness like a spooked beast towards the beckoning hand which- yes, it did indeed hold kibble-treats.

"There we are- now!"

Flinging Ruby back on the bed before she could resist, Haruhara whipped out some rope from again gods-knew-where and hogtied the poor girl.

"Relax! I've done this like, a dozen times!"

From that same incomprehensible location behind her back, the woman with her omnipresent Cheshire grin on her face whipped out a Rickenbacker 4001 left-hand base guitar, brandishing it like a sword by the instrument's neck.

"W-wait! What are you doing?!"

"Didn't I just say to relax? This won't hurt a bit- I take that back, but pain is only temporary so-HYAA!"

Activating her Semblance for the first time in months offered only temporary escape as the incredibly strong guitar cleaved her bed in two.

"Eh?! Why didn't you stay still? Don't you want to be cured?"

"No way!" Ruby screamed, clinging onto the recessed light-fixture for dear life. "Never! Not before, and certainly not now! NO, NO, NO, NO!"

"N.O.?"

The cartoonish expression which had dominated Haruhara's features since she'd arrived was momentarily replaced by a brief look of contemplation. During which time, Ruby's hands started slipping as the heat from the bulb caused her palms to sweat.

"What do you know about N.O.?"

"What do I no, no?"

"Yeah!"

"Huh?"

"Don't play dumb! Just come down here and take your medicine!"

Replacing the crazed grin on her face, the bubblegum-pink woman cocked her weapon back like a slugger just waiting for the pitch. Which at this point was inevitable as Ruby's hands couldn't hang on any longer.

"Aaaaahh!"

*SWISH*

"Nuts! Swing and a miss!"

"You're the crazy one here!" Ruby cried from the door, jiggling the doorknob in desperation while casting furtive glances behind her. "Anybody! Help! Let me out of here! This woman's nuts! She's gonna- Ah!"

The metallic blue body of the instrument brushed past the trailing rose petals, caving in the reinforced metal door indifferently.

"Heh! You're pretty fast! Too bad you're nuts, you'd make a pretty good investigator."

Previous assessment aside, Ruby latched onto the wrist-thick iron bars in a futile effort to remove them from her only viable egress.

"…Not too bright, though."

"Shut up! And just- let!- me!- out!"

"Oh come on, don't you want to see Naruto again?"

As if a plug had been pulled on a windup toy, Ruby suddenly quit her struggles, going limp against the metal barrier.

"H-how do you know about that?"

"Would you like to know?" Temporarily getting used to the too-large smile, seeing something so subtle and unreadable was even more unnerving. "Cooperate, and you just might find out."

Still perched against the bars as if they were a playground set, Ruby stared at 'Dr.' Haruhara with a look that said she was considering the offer.

"NO WAY!" And made a dash for the now open door.

*WHAM!*

"Itaiiii…"

"Meh, come on and take it like a man."

Despite the splitting pain in her skull and both hands clutched on her forehead, Ruby managed a glare at the obnoxiously pink woman which would have caused paint to peel but was all but useless here.

"Will you… at least explain what that was f-OR!"

Anything else which had been on her mind right then was very literally shoved aside as a splitting headache wracked her body. Her WHOLE BODY- how was that even possible?! It felt as if something were trying to claw its way out through that growing bump, and she could only try feebly to hold it back.

"What-GAH!"

The bump jutted out like a rhinoceros horn, forcing her hands to her side even as her body convulsed. Spine bent backwards and rising off the ground like a woman possessed, Ruby was forced to obey the invisible commands as her head was jerked back and forth, up and down from within.

Then with a half-rip, half shucking sound, the protrusion jutted to the extents that her skin would allow before whatever was underneath burst through and spilled out on the floor.

"See! There he is!"

Proudly beaming at the pile of fur like it was a newborn baby, Haruko Haruhara paused in throwing herself onto the squirming plushy.

"Eh? What's this? This has never happened before."

Poking the wet lump with her trusty all-in-one surgical tool and music-maker, she surveyed it skeptically while ignoring the groaning Ruby who was crawling over to the bedside table to patch up her forehead.

" **Would you stop that?** "

"AH! IT'S ALIVE!/IT TALKED!"

Staring and pointing from opposite sides, the furry lump unfurled under their accusatory fingers.

"That-that isn't Naruto!"

"A fox?" Suddenly no longer fearful of whatever had emerged from the girl's head, the woman loomed over the groggy and irate creature before it snapped at her nose.

" **No shit.** " Shaking like a wet dog (how humiliating!). " **What were you expecting? A TV-faced robot alien from another dimension?** "

"Yes!"

"…"

The fox, which revealed its nine-tails after turning them back on Haruhara regarded Ruby and the cross-shaped bandages on her forehead.

" **I want to go back!** "

"Gah! Bad puppy! Get off!"

" **I'm not a dog, darn it! Let me back in!"**

Between nuzzling its snout (which really tickled) and scratching at the place it emerged from (which really hurt!) the fox's panic was increasing as nothing happened.

"Well, I feel like my work here is done, so I'll just be goin-"

"NO! YOU CAN"T LEAVE ME!"

" **You caused this! You fix it, wench!** "

"Language…" Haruko grumbled. "Alright, I suppose there's one thing I can do."

Her fingers snapped and what was even more shocking than the lights dimming and a spotlight coming on was the serious persona that the pink-lady put on.

"Are you two ready?"

Ruby and the Nine-Tailed Fox looked at one another and blinked, not sure if they could trust one another but equally skeptical if they could put their faith in this bizarre character. But, it wasn't like they had much choice.

"Okay, get ready…" They braced themselves against one another, clinging on for dear life and whispering 'there's no place like home,' over and over again.

"LET'S ROCK!"

* * *

Miageta yozora no hoshitachi no hikari

It shows Naruto sleeping in his bead before it flips over to reveal Ruby sleeping in her bed.

Miageta yozora no hoshitachi no hikari

Naruto appears once again but this time he's standing up looking at the screen with a cocky grin on his face. The camera looks at him from a downward angle to reveal Ruby who's standing a bit away from him and looking into the opposite direction. Team 7 and (R)WBY appear on the screen all with various poses. Then one by one the spin and disappear except for Naruto and Ruby.

Instrumental

Naruto and Ruby are closer now, both of them in their regular clothes. Ruby has a pair of headphones on and her arms crossed as she looks off with a smile on her face. Naruto has his hands behind his back and a cocky grin on his face as he looks in the opposite direction. They disappear and the screen shows various scenes of the team RWBY/7 going about their days from Naruto arguing with Sasuke to Ruby sleeping in class while Weiss looks at her angrily.

Hitotsu futatsu kane no ne wa hibiku kokoro no naka e to hiroku fukaku

It shows Kakashi reading his book before shifting to Sakura as she puts on a glove and finally shifting to Sasuke with his hands in his pocket and his Sharingan activated.

Monogatari no youna hoshi no shizuku sono naka ni hosoi senro wo kizuku

It flips to reveal Weiss with her hands on her hips before changing to Blake reading a book and finally Yang with her knuckles slammed together.

Jikan to tomo ni jidai wa ugoku nagareru hoshi wa shizuka ni ugoku

The scene shifts to Ozpin and his teachers all standing in front of Beacon before switching to Tsunade with Jiraiya and Shizune next to her in the Hokage office.

Me wo tojite mimi wo sumaseba GOOD BYE

The scene shifts to Cinder back to back with Pein.

Hanate hikari makezu ni shikkari ima

It shows Naruto and Sasuke arguing and bumping heads while Sakura seems to be yelling at Naruto about something. Kakashi simply looks at his book and flips a page.

Toki wo koe dareka ni todoku made

It changes to Ruby biting her sisters arm while Yang has her in a chokehold. Weiss yells at them in the background while Blake simply flips another page in her book.

Eikou no hikari wa kono mukou ni

The camera backs out to show both scenarios playing out to show they both look the exact same almost.

KIMItachi to tsukutteiku SUTO-RI-

It zooms in on Naruto and Ruby's faces as they look up in curiosity as if sensing each other.

miageta yozora no hoshitachi no hikari

It shows Team 7 running forward fighting off a group of ninja and winning.

inishie no omoi negai ga jidai wo

Kakashi charges through them with a lightning blade while Sakura slams her fist in the ground sending into the air with Sasuke waiting for them with a fireball jutsu.

Koe iroaseru KOTO naku todoku

Naruto is seeing charging at the biggest one while creating a Rasengan and slamming it into his gut.

KIRARI hitomi ni utsuru dareka no sakebi

Team RWBY is fighting off a horde of Grimm with dispatching them easily.

Kaze ni omoi wo tsuki ni negai wo

It shows Blake zipping through the Grimm cutting them down before showing Weiss summoning a glyph which freezes multiple Grimm. They move back as Yang slams into the ground in a fiery shockwave shattering the frozen Grimm

chikara aru kagiri ikiteikunda kyou mo

It shows Ruby going toe to toe with an Alpha Beowolf before she speeds around it and leaps into the air and decapitates it.

Miageta yozora no hoshitachi no hikari

It shows Naruto and Ruby landing at the same time and looking back at their teams with wide smiles at their success.

Mnishie no omoi negai ga jidai wo koe iroaseru KOTO naku todoku

Ruby and Naruto are in the picture diagonal from each other. They slowly look at the screen Ruby with a calm smile giving a small wave and Naruto with a wide grin and his hands behind his back.

Bokura no omoi mo itsuka dareka no mune ni hikari tsuzukeyou ano hoshi no you ni

Suddenly they're in squares. The begin to shift around so all the other members of RWBY/7 can be shown on the screen smiling.

* * *

With a groan he lifted himself out of the disheveled mess that was his bed, mussing his tangled, charcoal hair which was in an even sorrier state than his sheets and heaving a loud, low yawn.

Those same sheets which then tripped him up and deposited him on the cold wooden floor in a cursing heap. He eventually extracted himself from the trap of his indifferent making, shuffling his way to the bathroom with a litany of mumbled swears on his lips.

Those were some bizarre dreams he'd been having of late, and could not fathom what had precipitated them now of all times. Considering he couldn't remember why he felt so hungover either, it was to be expected that there were some things even his genius couldn't solve. And strangely enough, he was cool with that.

He was cool with a lot of things. Perfectly fine being middle of the pack, laid back, letting others take on the dangerous missions, the glory, and the adoration of others. So long as he got his daily fix and wasn't disturbed when he wanted to be, all was well.

The only thing which set him off was when someone messed with his important people. That was when heads would roll.

Considering his mattress had no head, and he couldn't very well do himself in, there was no point in getting upset. Even if he did want to curse his past self for getting himself so drunk he couldn't remember when or where it had happened, it would accomplish very little and was not worth considering this early in the morning.

Which, judging by the broken clock in the hallways, was always too early.

Not bothering to turn on the light in his closet-sized commode, he simultaneously groped for his toothbrush along with something in his pockets to take away the pounding ache- cigarettes, booze, it didn't matter which so long as he got it quick.

When had his life come to this? Wake up some time in the afternoon to avoid doing more work than was necessary and especially those noisy brats he often had to deal with. Do the bare minimum in a day and try his damnedest to keep a low profile. Despite hanging around busty blonde woman most of the time, he didn't even care so much for hooking up and was more or less waiting for the right one to come to him- however admittedly unlikely that was.

"Damn! Where the hell is it?"

Finally giving into the throbbing pain in his forehead, he clamped down on the toothbrush in his mouth and flicked on the lights. A necessary sacrifice as he was temporarily blinded and staggered back, banging his shin on the toilet seat.

"Shit!"

He spit the plastic brush out into the sink along with a brownish glob of toothpaste, cursing and coughing his lungs out. Finally overcoming the pain and now fully awake, he finished rinsing and cupped his hands under the water, bringing the pool up to splash on his face.

Letting the cool liquid slap his hardened features, he paused with his hands resting on his cheeks. He _thought_ he had been fully awake, but the foreign feeling of stubble on his once boyishly-smooth face kicked him up into a new level of awareness, honed senses scanning the whole apartment as if an intruder had snuck in during the middle of the night and swapped everything around as a prank.

This was a very real possibility, but not even the culprit he suspected would be capable of doing something like this, would they?

Dreading what he would see, nonetheless he slowly acknowledged that he'd have to look in the mirror at some point.

A familiarly lazy face stared back at him with eyes that _felt_ familiar, but which were not his usual jaded brown. Instead, a red the color of countless bottles of plonk the sort which he'd no doubt downed last night.

Simultaneously his hands found a pack of cigarettes in his nightshirt and a stainless-steel flask resting next to his toothpaste on the sink.

"Troublesome."

It truly was so… whatever it was.

But nothing too great that it couldn't be ignored or blanked out by another heavy night of drinking.

Taking a swig and popping a cancer-stick in his mouth, Shikamaru, Qrow- whatever his name was- proceeded to kill those braincells which told him that this was something to freak out over. He lit it casually with a match he scraped off his stubble like he'd seen his master, Asuma, do a couple of times.

"So, whose fault is this, you figure? Ruby, or Naruto?"

"… yeah, you're right, probably both."

Oh well. The clouds weren't going anywhere, and Ozpin didn't need him for another week.

He'd enjoy the clouds from a bird's eye view, while it lasted.


	25. Side Note

**Maa, maa, no sense of humor I see. In any case, I didn't get (too) sidetracked, so on with the show!**

* * *

Whoever said that two heads are better than one has never actually had one in the first place. It's easy enough for a single mind to get caught up on something trivial, so multiple trains running rampant on the same track is a recipe for a wreck. We were better equipped than most to deal with this scenario with myself acting as a switchboard, directing these ruminations to the right places. It felt like that was all I was doing, and we were getting nowhere.

Not to say that I alone could have succeeded, though I wonder at times how much help Naruto truly was. There is something to be said about his drive, though direction was often wanting. I suppose it was my fault too, assuming we both knew what to look for. The goal was a far-off mountain shrouded in the mist, and he was stuck looking at its shadow.

In light of our insubstantial progress with saving the other Jinchῡriki or solidifying the link between worlds, it was aggravating to me that we continually put off that work for his side-quest of self-discovery.

Things happened in this world that no one could ever have imagined. Like life. Why make such an effort to inform other people of the truth if they are not inclined to search for it themselves? It is still difficult for me to completely banish this idea.

Reasoning aside, it was impossible for me to deny my host his need for this closure if it meant a return of focus. As the cause and the superior being, I resolved to help him however possible. But again, I did not understand what that would entail.

Thus, we come to this:

"Uzumaki- _sama_ , it is good to see you out and about."

"Naruto. Did you find any info on the other Jinchῡriki? Or are you here for another spar?"

Confronted with the bearers of two of the most powerful bloodline limits, whose ancient animosity towards one another was put aside for the sake of being his friend/rival, Naruto finally began to take my view, and realized that this was potentially not a good idea.

And yet he did it anyway.

"S'up guys? No, unfortunately that's not what this is about- well, I guess it loosely ties in, in a very weird, round-about sorta way…" He waved off this tangent line upon realizing the impatient skepticism he was receiving from two fronts. "No. This is something different. You remember the mission to rescue Gaara, right? At the Akatsuki hideout with the barrier seal?"

Neji nodded while Sasuke huffed. "Of course. How often do I get to run you through with my sword and get away with it?"

"Once was enough, thanks." Naruto twitched in irritation and further second-guessing. "Anyway, I guess that's a good a place as any to start this…"

" **You can still back out, you know."** I reminded him, not actually trying to be nagging. **"They won't think it that odd. I mean, they already** _ **know**_ **you're a little- what's the term?- wacko, and they're still amicable enough."**

But the hand clenched around the scroll in his jacket pocket was not loosening, and it was obvious that he wasn't backing down. That was, after all, one of his most admirable traits.

Arguably stupid. But admirable.

"Well, then I guess you remember when I took off to deal with something right after it, yeah?" The two stoic teens didn't bother to so much as nod as he was going to tell them either way. "Well, this is that something."

It must have been mandatory to whip out those scrolls in a flamboyant manner, the unraveling parchment arcing wide in front of him as his life blood drew an unnecessarily long streak across its length. There was a cloud of smoke, too large to be for a simple weapon, even one as large as his new scythe, which made the two onlookers tense under duress.

"Sasuke. Neji." Naruto's voice cut in through the nerve-wracking haze, reassuring them somewhat.

"Meet, Ruby."

* * *

It was fair to say that this is not what they were expecting. Any of them.

Naruto had been fully prepared to be attacked, confounded, ridiculed, and possibly even drummed out of the shinobi corps with a dishonorable discharge (a possibility which at this point still hung in the air). The Uchiha or the Hyῡga were likely preparing themselves for anything and everything, but were still surprised with the outcome.

"So… you guys have any more questions?"

"Plenty." Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose, possibly contemplating the wisdom of their acquaintance, Shikamaru, and just flopping over on his back to stare at the candy-floss clouds to clear out his brain. "But not now. Nothing that you can probably even answer, anyway."

"Ooookay. How about you, Neji? Neji?"

"I heard you the first time."

The boyish Jōnin snapped, still not looking at him directly. The foci of his all-seeing eyes had yet to leave the pale golem-like creature which Naruto had unleashed on them several hours earlier. The same which continued to act like a satellite to them, straying neither closer nor farther in her cautious orbit. A blind intuition that superseded her obvious want to overhear Naruto's long-winded explanation to his dubious friends.

In a way, the way she dogged their heels like a stray made the invisible connection he was describing more believable.

Logic aside, Neji's curtness was easily explainable. If I were that straight-laced young man- and mind you that's a big 'if'- there would not nearly be enough brotherly love for my blond host to refrain from maiming him at that point.

"Aaannddd…." Naruto prompted, leaning in only to whip back when the pale eyes turned to him. Neji heaved a long-suffering sigh.

"Like Sasuke said, there are many questions which you may not be able to answer, and which may or may not be relevant. For example: 'How did a part of her navigate its way here through the seal?' 'How is this one different from the other guardian constructs?' 'Is it a reflection on the original that it doesn't have Chakra coils, or is that a byproduct of the transfer?' 'How did you get this link in the first place?' and perhaps most importantly:

"'How did we not notice for so long?'"

In contrast to the pale-eyed boy's sever tone, Sasuke snorted.

"We _always_ knew he was weird. We just never questioned it." There was a disagreement forthcoming before the other boy conceded with a barely noticeable shrug.

Naruto was admittedly a little perplexed. Not even his heartfelt confession with Tenten had been this smooth, and she knew him like the dimensions of a kunai. Maybe it was _because_ she knew him so well, and both Sasuke and Neji fully admitted they did not. In their minds, there was still a big blank space reserved for Uzumaki Naruto, and this revelation was easily accommodated in that cavernous spot.

"So, you're okay with this?"

The two shared an unreadable look which made him once again regret even having asked, sweating in the long pause which one could practically hear the sun's brilliant rays shining down on them.

"You were born with this." Sasuke began at last, chewing his own words as they came out. "So it doesn't change anything. Your strength is still your own. It's like my Sharingan; both a blessing and a curse."

"Indeed." Neji picked up this point. "Though I hesitate to compare it to my own mark of bondage, there is no denying that you have at once both accepted your fate and struggled against the limiting confines." A small smirk that otherwise didn't quite belong on that painted face somehow made its way there. "In a way, this actually helps to explain a lot about you, O-Great and Mysterious Sage."

For the first time, Naruto smiled at that title. Though he still felt that he needed to do more to earn it.

"Mm. Your bonds have always been important to you, and I can finally see why. But still…" He turned now to take over Neji's duty of watching over the not-Ruby. "-What do we do with her?"

That was the question which begged an answer. What **was** she even? That was perhaps an even more important question that would dictate what they _ought_ to do with her. It would be cruel of them to seal her back up in the scroll if she were truly living. The flipside to that was the knowledge that she was just an artificial construct, a trap created for sole purpose of guarding its anchor.

Now deprived of that purpose, the not-Ruby could be described as listless, but with an even more downtrodden air about her that almost made them want to take pity on the poor creature.

Almost.

"At least it's not trying to kill any of us." They all agreed on this point.

"Well, shouldn't this be up to you?" A raven-colored eyebrow was menaced upon Naruto. "She _is_ your sister-er-pet-thing…"

"-And you were the one to capture her and let her out." Neji picked up where Sasuke had left off.

"Really?" He questioned dejectedly. "I confessed this to you guys so that you could help me with my problems. Is this the thanks I get for all my efforts?"

In the glance they shared, you could tell they thought he deserved something **more** than that, perhaps a good thump or two. But they forfeited this thought because in the long run they knew he would get them to help one way or another. You can't win against fools.

"Let's get this over with."

Between a choice of blitzing the shy creature and cautiously approaching her, they chose the latter upon Naruto telling them that she was likely faster than any of them and didn't wish to test that. 'Ruby' did not seem keen on them getting close either way, but was less skittish around the blond shinobi.

"Ruby," He state passively with an arm outstretched to the too-pale girl. "Can you understand me? Your name is Ruby, you know? Ruby Rose. Do you remember me? My name is Naruto. Can you tell me how you got here?"

Silver eyes with a tarnished luster flitted back and forth between the three shinobi stalking slowly towards here. Even if she weren't distracted by the possible danger, there was the possibility that human language meant nothing to her. He tried again in English, just to be sure.

"Just hang back you guys." They took the command hesitantly. After agreeing that they would help him, they felt uncomfortable sitting on the sidelines and resolved to stick as close as they could in case something should go wrong.

"There, now it's just you and me, alright?" He took another tentative step towards the grayscale figure. "I just want to talk. Can you please talk to me?" If she didn't, well, there wasn't much point in keeping her around.

" **Maybe I should eat her?"**

He let out a noise which I didn't understand at first, but later figured to mean that my suggestion wasn't appreciated.

This was the flipside to the coin, and a tad irritating. As, despite all his pretense of being opened-minded, he failed to consider things from a different perspective. If I devoured part of Ruby's soul, perhaps that part would return to her through the bond? Maybe it **was** just a shadow, a doppelgänger meant to deceive and sew discord. A couple days inside my gullet would certainly purge it of evil. If nothing else, it would constitute good recycling.

But no, humans never considered that kind of thing.

"What was that?"

He was not responding to me, though, and leaned ever more curiously towards the living doll. It seemed impossible that she could have formed any words of her own beyond the pathetic mewls heard in the background every now and then. Even if such a thing could talk, it would be but parroting what it had already been given and not representative of thought.

"I'm… sorry, Naruto. I-I didn't mean to cause so much trouble…"

I have been known to be wrong before.

"W-what?!"

The creature curled into a fetal position when confronted with the exclamation of surprise. It didn't take long for Naruto to figure this out and clamp his hands around his mouth before it got away from him (again).

"Ruby, y-you talked." Keeping his tone to a minimum he managed to close the distance between them, holding her firmly by the shoulders and trying to look her in those still-lifeless eyes. "And what do you mean 'sorry'? What's wrong?"

"…I attacked you…"

"That doesn't matter!" Still underneath his normal volume, he insisted emphatically. "It's okay. You probably had no control over yourself, right? It's going to be alright, you're here now. You're here."

The fragile form tensed within his desperate embrace. Not even bothering to squirm, it just felt lifeless. Cold. No different from stone.

"Ruby, you **are** here, aren't you?"

Wide marbles peeked out from the crack in his arms turning to mud around them.

"…I don't know."

* * *

It would take another half-hour to get more than few sentences out of her, another few hours before anything useful surfaced. In all that time, they would be lucky the team's usual training ground would only be intruded by one other, Tenten coming to check up on him around noon when he hadn't returned to his apartment. Despite the shock she gave all four of them, it was relieving having another female present for some of the more… _personal_ questions.

Numerous theories were tossed around for hours without any of them sticking, most of the remaining time devoted to figuring out what to do with this semi-autonomous image which was clearly not Ruby, but also clearly not without a form of life. A fraction of a person, perhaps an 8th, up to 3/5ths were suggested. But no agreements were made, and no one could decide on what personal rights this status gave her.

Putting her back in the scroll had been on the table. At least it had been until the fractured girl latched herself deathly upon Naruto's arm, cowering behind his meager protection. None had enough animosity for the artificial person to force this upon her again, and privately wondered just what sort of world existed within that dimensionless space to warrant such a reaction.

They could have just asked me.

Not enough bitterness, but not with enough sympathy to wish to keep her around. Better and worse in some ways than the fangirls who used to follow Sasuke like blood-sucking leaches, this one had no sense of private space but was much shier around the prodigal Uchiha. Quieter, too. Though seemingly just as useless.

Again, I suggested simply doing away with her. And again, it was vehemently denied. What would be the point? It might even be less cruel to simply end its half-life right then and there. It didn't seem like she would contribute to anything, and they had since discovered that she was somehow more solid than Naruto's shadow clones, so eventually they would need to feed her. Another complication to the already troubling situation.

Eating her first began to look more and more appealing.

That was before the weapon-obsessed woman made her infamous suggestion. Something which even now I hesitate to dismiss as anything but unwise.

But as some are fond of saying: if it's stupid and it works, it isn't stupid.

"Hey, Ino!"

Behind the scarred, wormwood counter a blond ponytail poked up like a periscope, head and shoulders breaching the surface soon after.

"Tenten-san? This is unexpected." An understatement if ever there was one. The senior kunochi had an aversion to anything stereotypically 'feminine' and was more likely to enter the morgue than the Yamanaka flower shop.

For this reason, Ino Yamanaka, who worked part-time in her family's store and full-time as a Konoha Chῡnin looked askance to the one person of their generation she knew the least, and her equally foreign companion who looked like she never set foot in a flower shop either, much less the sun.

* * *

It was also for this reason that a heated discussion was going on across the street from the dubious concealment of a slatted fence. Three teenagers spying and the one with x-ray eyes reading the mute conversation and relating the happenings to the rest.

"There's no way this is going to work."

"I don't know. It looks like it's working."

"It's unwise to make predictions so soon, but I must agree with Master-Naruto in that she seems to believe the story. So far, anyway."

* * *

"…So, let me get this straight…" That grace-period of 'so far' appeared to be nearing its end as the blonde-haired clerk stared dubiously at her two guests on the verge of panic. "This is Neji's…"

"Third cousin twice-removed, from his mother's side." Tenten lied fluently. "You know how the Hyῡga are, they don't really like to talk about family members if they don't have the Byakugan." She gave the uncomfortable girl by her side a half-hug, putting on a pitiable look for Ino's benefit.

An emotional plea that was almost as transparent as Not-Ruby's skin, there was little doubt that the kunoichi who specialized in her family's mind-reading techniques would be able to sniff it out in a heartbeat. Provided of course she could be brought to think of the diminutive girl as an enemy, which was basically unthinkable as she almost disappeared in the too-large clothes Tenten had lent her.

If the sympathetic frown overcoming the sociable woman was any indication, it seemed to be working. The young Yamanaka might have been an expert when it came to other's social behavior, but she had a bad habit of relaxing within the village walls and never turning that scrutiny inward.

The story was only made more believable by Not-Ruby's muted complexion, her already silvery eyes becoming so watery that they might have passed for a dormant form of the dōjutsu. That, and the two kunoichi had a mutual acquaintance in a Hyῡga who had an equally shy personality.

* * *

"Say, does she remind you of anyone?"

Peaking through the cracks, Sasuke considered the portion of the girl he could see through the shop window, bodily averting herself from Ino's overbearing attention and fiddling her hands together nervously.

"Of course she's familiar to you. Haven't you known her all your life?"

"Well, yeah." Naruto weighed his hands towards his friend, both unaware of the mortified twitch from their third member listening in. "But not this one. She's **way** different than how Ruby normally is. It's like something made her super-shy all of a sudden. And that's what seems familiar."

"Like who?"

"I don't know! That's why I'm asking you, moron!"

"Would you two keep it down? We're supposed to be hiding."

Without even raising his voice, Neji managed to browbeat the two into obeying. And when they were finally behaved, he silently heaved a sigh of regret for his cousin. It was a shame, but Hinata Hyῡga would have to be literally tied to the hip for Naruto to ever take notice of her reticent affection.

* * *

"So, she want's a part-time job? Here?"

Tenten nodded, gently shoving the shorter girl in front of her, squeezing a small 'eep' out of the living wind-up doll.

"Just while she's visiting." And until they could find out what to do with her.

Though the more time she could actually spend around the village, and around Naruto's friends in particular, the more effective this effort would be. The idea was to get people accustomed to the girl's face and presence, so that if and when he decided to break the news to the rest of them, they would have an easier time accepting it.

"Oh come on girl, you don't want to work here." Being her usual gregarious self, Ino sidled up to Ruby and to the girl's obvious discomfort snatched her away from Tenten's care. "You should be out having fun! If you're visiting, why do something so _boring_? I know I'd want to do every exciting thing I could before I had to get back to the day-to-day grind."

The girl's temporary guardian followed the two closely as Ino trapesed around the shop with Not-Ruby in tow. It was only a matter of time before the blonde's oblivious enthusiasm gave one of them a heart-attack. Though in the end, it was Ino who perhaps got the biggest scare when the slip of a girl under her arm disappeared in a gush of wind.

"Please… Yamanaka-san…" The two turned in surprise to find the pale-faced Ruby at the far end of the shop, hands clasped together and bowed in penitence. "I-I really would like to work. I…I don't want to be a burden."

The ball was back in her court, but for once the expressive woman did not know how to react, still perplexed as to how someone without a shinobi bearing could move so quickly. Never without words for long, she soon took the episode in stride with the confident smile redrawn on her face.

"You know, I don't think I ever caught your name."

Her extra-pale skin made the rosy blush even more prominent, all but blending in with the backdrop of camellia before she stooped even further to the floor.

"What was that?" She asked with an amused curl to her lip, perhaps finding a twisted sort of pleasure in the girl's bashfulness.

"My name is… Rose, Ruby." Not-Ruby mumbled a little bit louder, barely above Tenten's sigh of relief hearing the last name come out first.

"Rozu?" The fascination with her name made the girl even more uncomfortable than before. Not simply marveling over the strangeness, there was a familiarity in the elder woman's voice which now made her worried. "Like Bara? The flower."

It took even less time for her to locate an example amid the shop than it did to make the connection. Simply reaching over and plucking one from a prearranged bouquet, she held it up between the them, sighting the two like looking down the barrel of a loaded gun. Finally letting her arms drop, she giggled as she twirled the barbed stem expertly in between her fingers.

"I think I found our new delivery girl."

* * *

Perhaps she should have been more perturbed. But wasn't.

In all honesty, she had completely forgotten about her copycat in the other world until this point. During the first introduction of this creature, she had still been struggling with her mental shackles. And seeing something that was supposed to be 'herself' in such a spot seemed even less real than the rest.

Being so blatantly reminded of it, there was no question of its significance. Like a body on the autopsy table, all it took was one willing glance to identify it as part of herself. This thought was sickening to her, knowing that a piece of herself should look that wretched.

At the same time, there was no rebuking it. If anything, whatever fragment of her had meandered over to Naruto's world only served to further her positive outlook about the whole thing. While a little embarrassed to be so dependent on him, nothing would contradict her surety that whatever arose, Naruto could handle it. All the complications envisioned by his friends and naysaying by yours-truly were going to prove baseless. Finding it hard to think of this as anything but a good thing.

In fact, the issue of Not-Ruby (whom Ino insisted on calling Bara-chan from then on), proved a great distraction from the complicated questions surrounding the actual link. Everyone was so concerned with _what_ to do with her, that she slipped into their lives unknown like a foxtail.

" _Mah, don't worry about it, Naruto-kun. I have room enough in my loft to put her up. Besides, this may be the only chance I'll get to spend time with someone so special to you."_

Good, reliable, Tenten. Ruby wouldn't forget this favor, repaying it by proving her wrong. They would meet some day, face to face, the entirety of her. Of this, there was never any doubt.

"…Are you even listening?"

Not quite as reliable as the bun-haired weapons mistress, Ruby had to play catch-up to the discussion which went over her head. A predictable sigh relieved her from having to try too hard.

"What's the purpose of you even coming here if you're just going to space out the whole time?"

"Sorry," She grinned sheepishly with one hand massaging her raven-red locks. "I brought today's notes from Port's and Oobleck's class, though."

The pages were torn from her hand with a huff, pale blue eyes rapidly scanning the typewriter-like lines with an occasional wince from the nurse's ministrations down by her leg.

"There we are." The purple-bobbed medical assistant gave the girl an obligatory smile behind her surgical mask, bundling up the soiled bandages before disposing of them in the hazardous materials bin by the bedside. "You should be good to go now. Just try not to irritate it too much. Change the bandages out every other day and avoid taking too-hot showers, alright?"

Ruby was the only one to nod her thanks as the middle-aged woman excused herself, simply rolling away backwards on her swivel-chair with a childish glee.

Weiss must have noticed the eccentric exit, for her eye gave a different kind of twitch to that of the pain and sighed as she let the papers fall unto her lap.

"The ones for Port's class are useless, we never cover anything in there anyway. And everything for Oobleck's is directly from the book."

"But did you notice my sketch?" She asked, pointing to the rather well-depicted graphic of what happened when Jaune's red pen 'accidentally' exploded behind his ear, transforming the blond into his team's second redhead for the rest of the day.

"Yes." Ruby cowered under the venom-imbued word before being absolved as her partner practically leapt out of the hospital bed. "Let's go already."

"Wait."

Equally obedient to the single-word, Weiss stopped with legs dangling over the edge of the mattress, though not deigning to look her captain in the eye.

"Weiss, before we head back, I need to know…"

Despite the miscommunication which overarched the first few months of their partnership, there somehow existed a non-verbal understanding on some level between the two, such that the uptight woman had no need for the thought to be completed to know what Ruby was referring to.

"I admit, the world's a vastly different place from what I expected." Leaving her home of Atlas for the sole purpose of escaping from under her father's thumb, she rightfully had no real expectations of what she would find outside her prison of white-gold. "I suppose I wanted things to make sense, and to have more freedom and options for myself. I see now that those things are in a way, contradictory. The way my father does things, the order he so admires means obedience, and I think I can understand him better now. Freedom can be a dangerous and terrifying thing. People are just naturally going to be different and there's no guarantee that they'll think like you."

Giving her partner a long, hard look, Weiss registered the hopefulness in the stare she was receiving.

"-That means I don't have to agree, or even believe in what you think."

In a way she was disappointed, but more than that she was frustrated and upset with that obstinate attitude. It was a physical effort to restrain the toxic thoughts from creeping up through her chest.

A sigh like the release of steam deflated that upwelling.

"But, I suppose I don't have to do either of those things to work with you. I just have to trust in your skills and ability to lead. So far, I think I can do that."

Just like that, the conviction that never left surmounted all her other thoughts.

"Thank you, Weiss."

"Don't thank me." She huffed officiously. "Just don't disappoint me."

She would keep the bandages on her leg another few days, finally letting them accelerate the healing only after enough of the tissue had mended naturally and imperfectly to leave a slight sheen of scar tissue running up the side of her calf. Nothing that would be noticeable upon first glance, and something which would disappear under any sort of stockings or high-boot.

But it would tingle upon a coming storm, fight against a deep stretch, and chafe against any attempt to cover it up. For the woman raised on a diet of perfection, it was another reminder like the one above her eye that perfection was often the price to pay for something better. The currency to exchange for experience.

* * *

The other three clearly had no idea what to expect being called up to the headmaster's office several days after their complicated mission. As such, they relied on their captain who put on a stiff upper lip for their benefit.

"Ah, hello team RWBY, glad to see you all up and well."

Against expectations, they found the headmaster along with four cups of cocoa waiting for them in front of the imposing desk, the legendary man stretching his legs and looking out at the vista of Vale. This might have been even more unnerving than simply being debriefed, however, and it took a while before the four found their way to the individual mugs.

"Sköl." They looked blankly as he tipped the rim of his own drink towards them. "It means 'cheers'."

"Um, forgive me, Ozpin, sir." Some hesitated to follow suit, Weiss in particular just cradling hers with a bitter dip in her mouth.

"Drink first, then we can talk." Not expecting this condition, she turned to the brown liquid with lips parted, looking for answers there. "After all," he began after a modest sip. "I think you four deserve a little celebration, no?"

There were a handful of swallows marking this conclusion, uncomfortable with this casual praise.

"Roman Torchwick and his accomplice have been detained, the Dust Crime Ring thwarted, it would seem." There was something in his voice which struck us as not quite convinced, but ignored to hear what else he had to say. "Not bad for, what? The eighth week of school?"

Cautiously, a few smiles cracked the grave atmosphere, making them believe they had just imagined the sense of doubt. The drinks in their hands were very real, the warmth both inside and out far easier to accept.

"That being said, I would appreciate it in the future if you would try your best on these sorts of missions to _not_ get picked up by the local authorities." As offhanded as this addendum was, it nevertheless caused a few gagging noises behind his back. "Or at the very least, refrain from excessive property damage."

Ruby very tactfully averted attention being drawn to her with a long sip which kept her mouth from running amuck. Surely he couldn't hold that against her, could he? The building was already old and crumbling. Besides, it hadn't been her who fired the rockets in an enclosed space! She had just added a skylight or two.

More like one big hole which successfully divided the property in half.

"-Wait, 'in the future'? Does that mean you're going to be sending us out some more?"

Ozpin chuckled, striding over to his desk and absently looking through some of the scattered papers.

"But of course. Just because one problem has been taken care of, doesn't mean that the duty of huntsmen and huntresses is done." As the one who asked the question, it was Weiss's turn to hide her chagrin behind an admittedly satisfying sip. "-That is, if you still wish to continue with this pace. I could of course have you wait until the second semester when the rest of your classmates begin to take missions, and keep you at the introductory level."

The thinly veiled challenge made Ruby chuckle, especially glancing to her sides where she could see an almost equal fire of determination in her partner's eyes as her sister's.

But there was also a dark component there for the one who knew where this all lead, what the tasks were building towards. Even then she would not pretend to know all of what was behind the headmaster's moves, but trusted her instinct to pull her back well enough away from the invisible cliff they might be approaching.

"I've no problem with it." Yang declared, slamming back the rest of her drink as if to show that she was ready enough to go again right there and then.

"Maybe you could tell our teachers to let up on the homework, in that case?" The question like a flitting tail, Blake glanced sideways upon her suggestion. "…Just a little?"

There was no disappointment, and a little humor when the proposal was shot down. They were being given a chance to prove themselves, not a bonus. The shortcut up the mountain was just as hard, only with fewer switchbacks.

By the time they left, the sugar had permeated their bloodstreams and brought them to a new high were those challenges no longer seemed so daunting. An even level above the clouds where they could almost see one another clearly for the first time.

"…So you guys are really okay with it? Alright with me continuing to be your leader?"

The self-doubt had long since been removed from her being, bound and carted off to places unknown. And yet the question still had to be asked. It was part of self-preservation, the paranoia of betrayal always there because as long as humans were human, the unexpected would never disappear.

All was silent in the elevator car except for the gentle hum of the electromagnetic guides as several glances were shared behind her back. Ruby's eyes fixated instead on the slowly changing numbers.

"Ha!" The expression made her lurch, that strange, sickening feeling where one's body was going down and the organs trying to leap through the throat. But a hand pressed upon her scalp, ruffling her hair and keeping her tied to the floor. "Even if you weren't my sister, I wouldn't give up this chance for the world! I don't think I've ever had such a fun night out on the town!"

Letting the blonde's hand rest there a while longer, her own clenched and trembled by her sides. Not with fear, or trepidation, but with a solemn vow.

"…I swear, I will protect you all."

It was but a whisper in the coffin-like confines, but she should have expected at least one to pick up on it.

"It's not the leader's job to constantly protect their subordinates." Blake's aside was a non-sequitur to the others and drew their attention to the normally soft-spoken woman. "Rather, to make sure that they can take care of themselves and give them an example of what to strive for."

Ruby returned the sly smile she saw in the chrome door's shiny reflection, a bit more weight removed from her shoulders with that vote of confidence. Waiting yet for that last, digging burden to be relieved. In the inexorably long ride, all three hung upon that last voice of assent.

Probably lost in her own thoughts, Weiss either didn't notice or chose to hold off until the last second. Waiting upon the doors opening back up to the normal world where only misunderstanding and strangeness awaited them. That place where their true thoughts couldn't be voiced, but the only place they would have truly mattered.

She brushed past her leader, ignoring the stone-like stillness in that portal behind her.

"I already told you." She spoke without turning around. "I don't need to believe you, to believe **in** you." The serious stare which she turned and leveled at Ruby was for her own benefit, the furrowed brow only there to protect her own hopes, as fragile as the ice-blue orbs sandwiched in between.

"Don't let me down."

That was easy enough for Ruby. But it wasn't up to her, now was it?

* * *

"You…wanted to see me?"

Rapping slightly on the doorframe before sticking her head in, showing a modicum of courtesy such that it mattered at this late date.

Goodwitch's office hadn't changed. Still as ancient and tidy as it had been every previous time (not that there had been that many, mind!). Modest desk with modest lamp throwing modest amounts of light on the modestly sized space full of modest decorations that betrayed nothing but a modest career. In fact, the only things which did not fall into this trend were the two massive bookshelves flanking either wall, and the woman herself.

Even trying to appear as approachable as possible with her open-door policy, Glynda was no different than a caged tiger, green eyes tracking her the moment she stuck her head in through the portal.

Not that she was scared or frightened of the woman or what she represented. Deputy Headmistress she may be, but Ozpin had the final say in things, and any punishment within her power would be nothing compared to what she'd already endured.

"Ms. Rose, yes, please do come in." No, she was not frightened, not even by that almost- congenial lilt which threw her off guard. "Have a seat."

Sliding into the surprisingly soft upright chair until she slouched, she mused with a sideways head on the book titles whilst Glynda finished up whatever it was she was doing when she entered. Humming a soft tune under her breath, she kicked her legs to an unknown rhythm.

No, she was not afraid, just wasn't sure what to expect. There was a difference, especially to her. Goodwitch might have been the second in command right after Ozpin, but how much did she know? Of her? Of Ozpin himself? She wanted no part in any school politics, if that was what this meeting was about. Neither did she want to step on any toes by revealing too much, or too little.

Sheathing her antiquated fountain pen with a small click, Glynda deliberately took the paper she was grading and set it on a stack with all the others so that she had nothing but her folded hands in front of her.

"How are you doing, Ms. Rose?" Rightfully, Ruby blinked in the face of this meaningless human platitude. "I know it has been a while since I promised to speak with you, but as I understand it, we have both been quite busy."

A promise? Was that what it had been? Would a command by any other name have gotten her in that door?

"Yes, I guess I have." Nodding to accept the woman knew she was working for Ozpin, unconsciously sitting up in the velvet-backed chair. "Fine, apart from that, I suppose."

"Good. Care to tell me what happened the other day, then?"

Another right turn. Was she doing this on purpose just to throw her off guard? Or was the woman as simple as she seemed, upfront about both her staunchness and her caring for those trusted to her guard?

I admit, when a long pause followed that question, I listened with rapt attention for the answer. Ruby hadn't even told Ozpin about me yet, nor explained what she knew about what was happening to her psyche. Whatever fascination the man held for her affliction, he was not telling.

But what of Glynda? Did the head know what the hand was doing at all times? She did not strike an impression as a woman who would betray a trust, to either her students or to her superior. Neither did she seem conniving as the headmaster. Admittedly, I have misjudged before, and relied on Ruby or Naruto for that reason.

There were doubts though, as to whether Ruby was in the right mind to make that assessment. I knew she lacked an outlet for her confessions like Naruto had. She was strong, but I just hoped that she knew when and what to keep a secret.

"What do you mean?"

There had been too much of a delay, and even before Goodwitch frowned Ruby recognized it was a foolish thing to say.

"I'm not going to punish you, if that's what you're afraid of." It wasn't. "I just want to know how you are doing. I understand that this is a stressful time with everything going on. Though obviously I cannot imagine the difficulty of accepting what was done to you, I can at least commiserate on the stresses of school and the missions you have been taking on top of it. I just want to make sure that you are not causing yourself undue harm. Believe it or not, I do worry about all of my students."

Reports and homework on top of late-night escapades was certainly not helping, but there was little could be done about what was on the forefront of her mind. Certainly nothing Glynda could do, even if she were to be let into the loop.

"Thank you, Ms. Goodwitch." She said sincerely, unknowingly bowing her head more than was normal for polite conversation. "I'm not going to lie and say that it's a breeze handling all of it. But I'm not going to complain, either."

"It's not about complaining, Ruby. It's about knowing your limits and getting the support you might need."

The prior she had been well versed in. As strange as it sounded, the second was something she was still getting used to. She'd started with a wide base, her father, Yang, Qrow, and of course, Naruto. Adding Coco and Velvet had been the pinnacle of her greatness, before she'd fallen hard. Slowly building back up now, it was a tempting offer to reach for.

Though once bitten, she was careful now about where she stuck her hands.

"I understand. That's why you put us in teams, after all."

"Not even your team can always help you. There will be things above your capabilities. Then there will be disputes between the four of you. Not even the best of friends will see eye to eye all the time." Now she was speaking from experience, and not even the flat light from the single fluorescent bulb could wipe away the lines of age from her face. "You probably already know that with your sister. I just want you to know that I'm here to talk, if you need another option."

"Right." Not afraid, no, just uncomfortable with the direction this was taking. She wanted to end it before she took the woman up on her offer. "Thank you, Ms. Goodwitch. I think I'm alright for now, but… I'll keep it in mind."

"That's all I can ask." Sounding more jaded than relieved.

Guessing that was her cue to exit, Ruby quickly but considerately got up from the chair and made her way to the door, not feeling Glynda's eyes following her because they were staring at the empty spot on her desk.

"Just remember: my door is always open."

Not being able to say anything, she gave a tight-lipped nod and disappeared into the encroaching night. Burned in her mind, the pale-blonde hair and somber green eyes bleached under that unflinching lamp.

Her investment seemed genuine, even to me. Oh Glynda, if only you could know which side of the cage you were on! Your door may always be open, but if you dare step foot into the rabbit hole there's no promise that you'll ever return.

* * *

Heading back to their own hole were Bara-Ruby and Tenten. The later having just come to collect the girl from her first full day of work and the former following hazily, lost in perpetual inner turmoil.

Naruto's clone tracked them as it had all day, every day. If Tenten knew she made no gesture of it, concentrating on trying to get the other girl to open up.

It was starting to look like a futile effort, as even with the constant exposure to an extrovert like Ino she had yet to peek from her shell.

Futile, or pointless? Pointless was his overconcern for his friends, silently guarding when he should know they could take care of themselves. Futile was something not worth doing because it was impossible. I doubt he realized a difference and continued along with both because stubbornness was his most admirable trait.

Sometimes watching events unfold was all you could do, and the closest of watches couldn't always stop things from happening, couldn't make things change.

Watching this pot slowly boil was the same. This was Ruby, and it was not. A gross representation or an embryo that would never fully develop. A singular aspect, an immutable avatar of some quality that he still couldn't quite place. Unchangeable, and therefore not alive.

None of that pointlessness could stop him from keeping vigil. They would be back soon, anyways.

"Okaeri- Woah!"

The cheerful greeting was punctuated with a kunai embedding itself in the kitchen cabinet right above his head.

"Naruto?!" One hand still extended in a throw and the other pressing the scrawny body of Ruby out the recently opened door. "What are you doing in my apartment?!"

True, they usually ended up at his place, probably because even Neji admitted that that atmosphere in his clan's compound was stark and a bit off-putting. That, and Naruto himself kept the most erratic hours, over the years waking up with no set schedule. His presence there shouldn't have been such a surprise though, should it?

"Um…" Facts aside, if he didn't say the right thing in the next three seconds there was no doubt that she had enough weapons to make sure even his individually dispersed molecules within the Shunshin would be pinned to the wall. "… making dinner?"

"Oh." Lips rounded mimicking the clipped expression, she suddenly reanimated. "Great! Should I set the table? Come on, Bara-chan. Close the door on your way in."

The avatar girl clearly preferred to go in the exact opposite direction, but had no choice as she was dragged in by his teammate's insistent grip. Going back to his simmering pot, Naruto watched out of the corner of his eye as she fidgeted nervously in the foyer for a spell before tiptoeing about her new-normal.

He sighed. Why did he even bother?

"Itadekimasu!"

Tenten was the only one who followed this expression by digging in to her meal with gusto, a hard day of training preceding it for the both of them. Not that he wasn't also hungry, and not that his sukiyaki wasn't delicious (which I can say is utterly true), but he simply ended up pushing beansprouts around his plate, picking up a moist glob of rice now and then.

Much like how Ruby was doing. It was supposed to be a happy time, something he had waited his entire life for. But no matter what it looked like, this wasn't it. Not a happy moment, not a comfortable setting, not a family, not a-

*Splat!*

The cube of tofu stuck there on his forehead like a sponge, slowly sliding down his face and leaving a savory brown streak along with forbidding silence in its wake. He looked up slowly, not even glancing at the Ruby avatar who had shrunken beneath the table until just her fearfully wide, tinny eyes were peaking out.

His slackjaw stare was reserved for his teammate who sat across from him, blinking as if she couldn't believe her lobbing shot had struck home. At least, that was before she broke into a wide grin of madness and panic, snatching up a wad of rice from her bowl and flicking it his way.

Prepared this time, he moved his head out of the way, letting the snowy white projectile deform against the window.

"Hey! What the heck was that for?! I worked hard on this, ya know?!"

Fishing around in her bowl for another round, Tenten stopped and the juvenility of what she'd just done caught up to her.

"Ow!"

Rubbing her eye free of the spice flakes and staring at the languishing piece of lamb that had flopped on the table, she could only register his deranged cackle.

"It's only fair I get the first shot-'ttebayo!"

"It's on!"

It was a waste of good food. Scratch that- it was a _massacre_ of desperately needed sustenance, each mouth-watering bite flung haphazardly to land against a piece of furniture or some unlucky body would have brought a tear to my eye if I had the ability to cry.

I guess I kind of do, but only when one of them was. And right now, the only tears being shed were ones of joy, as both he and Ruby were laughing like loons.

Even **this** Ruby, this pathetic imitation had been caught up in the madness of clones and chaos, comestibles and consummate laughter. All three found themselves drunk on these bacchanalian revelries.

Because there was something they needed even more desperately than food.

I have no need to eat, though can appreciate taste. I have all the benefits of life and none of the detriments. None of the wicked motives associated with hunger, lust, vengeance need apply- and yet I know of them. It should make sense that there are some commonalities which transcend all life.

Amusement. Joviality. Happiness. Light emotions to lift one up and to illuminate the way. Did I ever have these before the kits showed up in my life? It is hard to remember, and easy to forget. Spending too much time in those dark thoughts, getting accustomed to their chill doesn't make you a better person. Just numb.

"Hey, you guys, we just came to check up on you two-"

*WHAP-SPLAT-FLOOSH-TONK-TONK-TINK-TINK-TIN-TI-T-T-T-T-T-ttttttttttvmm.*

Sasuke looked first to the three pairs of owlish eyes staring at him from the cover of a sofa, dining table, and most recently behind the potted plant near the transept which was sporting a full-body blush at what it'd just done. Then he looked to the now motionless, empty tureen on the floor by his feet. Last to the equally mute boy by his side, traditional white Hyῡga robes completely drenched with the salty meat broth.

The room-nay the world held still for several labored breaths.

*fwip*

A finger swiped across his dripping brow.

"…pretty good. Less salt, though, I think."

"…That's because he needs everything to taste like ramen."

"Oi!"

Misunderstandings aside, I knew that diligence could wait. No words were required because no words could describe this need. Meditation by depriving a body of stimuli and this mind-numbing orgy of sensation were both the same.

Sometimes, one just needed to shut up, and stop thinking.


	26. Archetypes

**God, it's only been a week, yet it feels like a month. I've got to be honest, I have been having a really hard time writing lately, and it's discouraging. Honestly, I've been sitting on this chapter for like three weeks now. This and the next few have been redone about three times each, and I must have written and rewritten like 6,000 words. Don't feel like you need to prop me up, but maybe some feedback would help me get my thoughts back on track.**

… **And I hope people realize that the last chapter title was simply called 'Side Note', and was an actual chapter and NOT an AN.**

* * *

This wasn't her getting discouraged.

Animated voices in the background bleating and chipping away at her relaxation.

This wasn't her becoming upset.

Disinterest in the glazed pork and maple-spiked sweet potatoes in front of her, fork testing the firmness of the meat as the minutes passed.

This wasn't her losing hope.

Head in hands, eyes drooping, sigh heaving.

This was just her getting _**tired**_.

Yet another mission which took her and her team to the fringes of Vale- both the Kingdom and the city. Whether a wild goose-chase or a complete SNAFU, nothing had been satisfying nor as sensible as the mission where they'd captured Roman Torchwick and single-handedly ended the dust crisis.

Except that they didn't.

The world turned, the tides receded, and stores were still burglarized- with or without their supposed ring leader. Ruby already knew this would be the case, or at least greatly expected it when Ozpin told them he'd send them on more _tasks_. She knew of his _true_ enemy, and this continuation only seemed to confirm that the crimes were due to her meddling.

Now they were without a substantial lead and stuck to random guessing, far-flung hunches and wild rumors having them traipse about city and countryside looking for a clue.

All this on top of a full-semester workload. Thank all things holy their break was coming up soon. Only a few more courses to go and they were free- or as free as Ozpin would allow them to be. Until then, she'd hold her tongue, not debasing herself to sigh overdramatically like Weiss at ever opportunity. Honestly, for all the talk surrounding her sanity, she seemed to be the most well-adjusted to the huntress life.

She'd been meditating with Blake more and more, which not only helped to make up for the lack of sleep, but also to quell the unintentional spillage of the corrupting Chakra.

Equally busy with this very problem, I worked tirelessly trying to stem the flow. Either that or complete the bridge so that Naruto could install a seal which would lessen the effects. Both answers proved elusive, and increasingly like a race against time.

Even with the occasional purge of his own, Naruto's frustrations kept spilling over to a general prickliness and taciturn, lashing out mainly at myself, though backscatter which also seemed to reach over to this end.

It was not a good combination.

Then Ruby had to get into an argument with Ozpin- or vice versa. I'm not quite sure anymore. With regards to Torchwick, Ozpin had opted to keep him and his accomplice holed up in the local slammer instead of the obviously more secure dungeons there at Beacon (It was assumed that these were a leftover from before it became a school. But with the sadism of teachers like Goodwitch, sometimes I wonder if that medieval system wasn't part of the curriculum). Meanwhile Ruby was staunch in her opinion that the jail was too insecure for the likes of someone like Neo.

Ozpin had connections, that much she knew, so having the clout to bring them under his wing shouldn't have been a problem. It wasn't, and once she realized that it was his intention to leave them perched there like a piece of cheese on a mousetrap- well, all she knew was that she didn't approve.

Call it professionalism, or perhaps some twisted form of compassion. The sum of her good-intentioned arguments succeeded only in irking her further. Eventually, Ozpin too.

He had put them on probation- he called it vacation. Truth be, they probably needed it. Sage knows that I need it just to keep up with them and their often-deadly antics. I would take every break I could get, and Ruby should have as well. Whatever universe-spanning link we were messing with did not respond well to sleep deprivation. Sands in an hourglass or faces of a clock- either way, there was an imbalance in our partnership. More than a spine-tingling nervousness, it manifested into vertigo within my chamber, cracks running up the sides and a canting of the very walls.

Something needed to be done.

"FOOOOOOOD FIIIIIIIGHT!"

And there we go again with the childish antics. Yet another purge, or perhaps just an avoidance of those burdensome thoughts which would have to be dealt with sooner or later.

Let them be children for a little while longer. I of all should know just how much of that was taken from them.

Meanwhile, I had work to do.

* * *

"Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha! Oh my gosh, that was so much fun!"

Panting and giggling like a hyena- for once not alone in this attitude- Ruby collapsed against a mostly-intact bench and surveyed the picture-perfect catastrophe they precipitated. Jackson-Pollock with produce and Dali as the students caught in the crossfire draped themselves over every food-caked surface.

Who had even started the fight? I hadn't stuck around long enough to find out. Even then I was only peeking in every now and then with the corner of my attention, afraid to turn away from my meddling with the cosmos like a galactic surgeon inside these two delicate universes.

Maybe if I had been watching more closely, it wouldn't have happened.

But just as Naruto had found out, not even observing can stop time. Stories occur whether they are written or lost to history, both inexorably leading up to the present. 'What if', is a question for those who don't have lives to lead.

"Just what is going on here?!"

"Uh-oh."

Her reaction was to hide, an animal instinct no amount of training could completely eradicate from her mind. Popping behind that same bench and watching through the cracks as Glynda Goodwitch stormed in, magic a-blazing and none of that compassion she'd displayed when it had just been the two of them. She was a woman on a warpath, and as much as Ruby wanted to go out and help her friends, there was nothing she could do but to save herself.

Alas, she couldn't even do that.

Relief as Goodwitch failed to notice her absence was like an armful of bricks suddenly dropped, and she recognized her fatigue for the first time.

Tired, so very tired.

It wouldn't matter if she just took a nap here in the corner, would it? Her next class wasn't for… some time. Naruto'd know. He'd take care of her.

Only Naruto wasn't there, and there would be no one to catch her when she fell.

* * *

Like a hammer hitting him in the back of the head and knocking him into consciousness. For the first time in a long time, he awoke completely alert and with heart racing.

"You alright, Gaki?"

Only then did he realize that the scalloped edge of _Radiant Thorn_ was no longer resting over him like a shady branch and instead was caressing the green and red girth of his master.

"Ero-Senin!" He jumped back as if burned- knew that if the man so chose to, he would be.

"Jumpy there, huh?" Naruto felt himself crushed under the man's square-jaw expression, mumbling a quick apology.

"Hmm. Figures." The air which Jiraiya lost was picked up by Naruto as he rose to the odd statement.

"What does?"

"I guessed from the start it was a girl."

Naruto choked. Everything that happened hit him again, that hammer, really a wrecking ball coming around for another swing as he remembered the events before he found himself… where was he exactly?

Oh yeah. Outside Tenten's… apartment. Keeping watch. Again.

"Eh-It's not like that you pervert!" Channeling that sudden fear into fervent denial which caused his lecherous sensei to take a step back with beefy palms imposed between the two of them.

"Fine, fine, forgive me for making assumptions given that you were outside an apartment with two _ladies_ , and oh, _completely exhausted from the night before._ " Folding his arms, the big man huffed and Naruto tried not to blush at the admittedly compromising situation.

There was the fact that he was _outside_ most of the night, and had he been in reasonable state of mind, he could have guessed his perverted sensei knew this. It would not have been hard to guess, as this had been his habit for a few nights now. Standing guard like a gargoyle until on the other side Ruby needed to wake and-

Ruby.

" **Clearly** you didn't get laid. If you did, you'd be a lot less uptight…"

"What do you want?" Completely ignoring the comment- confirming it in fact, he didn't care. If this wasn't important-

"Don't give me that attitude, brat." The solidity of the command was enough for him to climb onto, out of those miring thoughts. "Not only am I your master, but I stuck my neck out for you time and again, all so you can run off on some foolish and impossible crusade to get yourself killed. And this is the thanks I get?!"

"…I'm sorry."

The words were not enough, but they were all he could scrape together at this point. He needed to go, to move, to do something. Ruby might have been in danger, and he was just stuck there!

Had he been paying attention, he would have noticed Jiraiya's sigh, would have observed the way he looked at him with an innate understanding. The man had been right, of course, not that he could possibly know. And yet he somehow, the man did, and managed to forgive him for it.

"Here."

With only a tiny amount of bitterness still lingering in the way he tossed the packet to his pupil, Jiraiya watched him fumble with it and his weapon for but a second, still registering the change of heart.

"What is-"

Two different folders, roughed and marked with an indiscernible number of seals, orders, and nonsense-codes. The blaring red stamps on top of that were unnecessary, as were the words of his sensei looking on while he scanned the covers.

"Numbers Four and Five."

He looked up from the polaroid pics paper-clipped at the top to gawp at his master.

"My spies tell me they're Akatsuki's next targets."

"What about-"

"We were too late."

The clipped response describing all too well what happened to Number-Three: Isobu, the three-tailed turtle and his deranged container. Pity, the lot of them might have gotten along.

It was another blow, this time to his chest. He was out of breath, dizzy, not capable of understand the rest of the Sanin's words like he missed the 'we' in the man's declaration, not in a mood to share grief. The point was that he was too late. What had he been doing? Whatever it was, it hadn't been enough. In the space where he'd blinked they'd struck, and he'd lost.

No.

The papers crumpled in his hands to the loud protests of the Spymaster who'd worked so hard to smuggle them out of Iwagakure. He took no notice- hollow gaze fixed past the man, past the window and the brick wall in the way to where the piece of Ruby lay asleep, the only tangible sign that she was still alright, that she was still alive.

That was the hope, anyway.

A desire to break down the door and check for himself was almost irresistible. He wanted to rush into the apartment and reaffirm his belief with his own two hands. If it would help, he would have gladly bludgeon himself into unconsciousness just to look through her closed eyes and feel her steady breath.

Some part of him knew that it would be pointless though- worse, detrimental to his cause. So he did none of those things.

"When do we leave?"

* * *

Turns out, in the next few minutes. Long enough to say an all-too-quick goodbye through the windows. Then to his own apartment, grab a scroll which had his combat arsenal, enough to supplement the survival gear and rations he had on person at all times. Stuffing them into his jacket in the holster where once the human avatar resided for so long.

Then like dust in the attic, the gates of the village were flung open and they were off.

There was no question if they been authorized for this mission. I had my doubts as to whether Naruto realized this. Doubtless the legendary Sanin had given it some thought, though it was anyone's guess if he begged permission from his busty teammate or if he, like the other two, had the habit of throwing caution to the wind.

Apparently, Ruby and I were not the only influences, the two hardheads in concert with being addicted to recklessness, it seemed.

Unlike Naruto, the Sanin certainly recognized this flaw within himself. Just as he could see the irrational desperation his apprentice had taken with the safety of his fellow Jinchῡriki. Normal human motivations did not justify his student's obsession, and I could tell the wizened old pervert was suspicious.

More concerned than mistrustful. Deep concern, worry, for someone he viewed as far more than an apprentice.

Ah yes, as he was watching Naruto, I was watching him steal sideways glances, reading that plagued conscience to which I knew the ailment. My advantage, that one-way mirror. Had he known that what he was staring at was staring back, things could have become clear.

No matter. I had my own grievances with the man but would not let them come up here. He was necessary for keeping the brat safe. I had held my tongue for Naruto's benefit, and should he manage to get them both back alive, I would continue to do so, let him choose the appropriate moment.

Dying without a confession would have been worse than anything I could have done to him.

"Naruto," It had been so long since he heard his master's irreverent and boastful voice, it was as if this weren't Jiraiya at all, but an imposter like the Ruby waiting for him back in Konoha: a stripped-down copy. "You're distracted. Whatever it is, forget it right now. We're going up against at least two S-class opponents, and neither of us can afford to be at anything less than our best. If you don't it isn't just your life on the line, but mine, the other Jinchῡriki…

"-And your friends. Don't go disappointing them."

That focus, the distilled attitude of no-nonsense. I suppose even something so two-dimensional also served a purpose. He was right, and if heeded, that advice could save his student a lot of grief.

Naruto didn't need me to tell him this, probably couldn't hear me anyway. He had already partitioned off this part of his mind, ridding himself of distractions and focused only on the rhythm of his breaths, the stretch of his gait, the rush of air funneled through his billowing jacket.

"Wakatta."

Even in their simplest forms, humans had that quirk of humor which was impossible to flatten. Be it a bitter smirk of resignation, soft smile of contentment, or the mad grin of insanity. One of these appeared on Jiraiya's face as he sped alongside his pupil who was as focused as the tip of the scythe which trailed behind him like a rudder.

"I haven't seen you use that thing yet. Any good with it?"

"Might say that."

"Hmph. I'll wait to see it with my own two eyes."

Would he believe it, even then? Some say seeing is believing, others all too content to trust in hearsay, disturbingly many ready to put their faith in a comforting lie. The monsters under your bed don't care if you believe in them or not, though.

* * *

Night had fallen, and they still hadn't stopped.

Evidently it was now Naruto's turn to burn the midnight oil. But I doubted the kind of sleep Ruby was getting on the other side was restful. Every moment he pushed himself was another in which he had to prevent his thoughts from drifting there.

It was harder for me not to think about her, for all I could do was think. Banging my head against that illusory gap- the same which now I couldn't even find.

I was shut out.

Fear was something I wasn't used to, one of those emotions they introduced me to. It wasn't pleasant, but at last I could see the emotion I had been inflicting on humans all these centuries.

It didn't excuse their actions, but that was neither here nor there.

Helpless, I could only simmer silently and watch.

Watch, and listen.

"We're entering into the Land of Earth now, be especially on your guard for Iwa shinobi."

Naruto nodded his understanding, but I knew there was something he was not getting. The importance of that secret Jiraiya kept from him. I had not told him who his father was either, and why he of all people should be wary around the Rock-nin.

"Don't expect them to be as understanding as Yugito. Even if they have full control over their Bijῡ, Konoha and Iwa are enemies, plain and simple." The swish of passing branches was the only answer to this sagely advice. "I mean it, Naruto. This isn't like your little playdate with Kumo. Not only are Akatsuki going to be extra cautious now, but there's a very good chance that Roshi and Han will be hostile to our help."

Dancing around the real issue like a bed of nails couldn't have been easy. I doubted any of my kin would allow their hosts to turn on mine like that, but his former point held merit. Just what kind of monsters were Akatsuki going to send this time? They were down four of the nine, that left-

"Move!"

The already sparse trees lost one more to a gaping mouth of mud rising from below to swallow it whole. The crunch as a once proud arbor was turned into toothpicks echoed above as they dropped to the rocky terrain below.

This was a mistake, as the ground which appeared solid turned to quicksand under their feet. But they'd had little choice as the forest was quickly petering out to steppe and the treacherous mountains beyond. They'd been prepared for this eventuality.

A flurry of movement concealed by the crags up ahead was the only warning before the massive moraine perched on the hills came loose, tumbling down towards them. Not bothering to see how his student faired, the Toad Sage flew through hand seals as the boulders rolled closer towards them.

Naruto himself was already playing hopscotch with the rolling field, sprinting on top from one to the next towards the concealed enemy. Behind him the boulders were swallowed into an even deeper maw of Jirayia's making.

His foot extended in a leap and there was a twinge of precognition which drove him to flicker out of the way. Behind him the rounded boulder he was to land on turned into a spiky mace.

Appearing right in front of the Rock ninja whose hands were still fixed in the last character of his attack, that same foot which had almost been nailed lashed out to tag the man in the jaw. A cry of dismay to his right allowed him time to plant an explosive tag on the ground and get back before the man's comrade came to extract vengeance.

The distance of his retreat was covered while batting projectile weapons out of the air, a skip in his step. The explosive note had merely delayed their second wave, and now the burgundy-clad shinobi flooded in from every fold in the mountainous terrain and congregated towards him like a watershed. He flattened himself to the ground just as his master came barreling through behind him.

The effect of that gargantuan man landing solidly on the hard-packed alluvium was instantaneous, he was like a human earthquake that caused all the ambushers to lose their footing and stumble as they surveyed the wrath of a god. Whispers of his name were the wind rippling through the valley, scouring the stone.

"Knock it off! We're not here looking for a fight!"

Words like thunder made the Rock-ninja appear worried about a flash-flood, before a storm was raised on their own side.

"So what are you looking for, Jiraiya of the Sanin?! Come to steal more of our village's secrets?!"

With someone addressing him by name the man relaxed his severity on the surface, keeping that dangerous tone in his reply which irrefutably spelled out his terms.

"Oh? And here I was going through the trouble of returning this paperwork to you after picking it up in a brothel. I swear, you find the most interesting things in those places…"

"Don't give me that bullshit!" His own guard never dropping, Naruto briefly directed his attention at the indignant speaker. "You break into our village, steal classified documents, then come waltzing over our borders like you own the place. And expect us to just let you go?" The woman gave a very un-ladylike snort and folded her arms, narrowing her gaze dangerously at the legendary shinobi. "Although, tell you what. I'm actually feeling a little bit generous today, so why don't you just hand over the son of Konoha's Yellow-Flash, and we might call it even."

In hindsight, I should have known that this would eventually happen. Routinely I had asked myself, if Naruto had known from the start that his father was the village's hero- the very man who placed me inside of him, would it have changed things?

I doubted it.

Now at least he looked at her, unwisely devoting the entirety of his attention. Rather than play dumb and deny the claim, he pawed over it. Trying to see if he could suss out her credentials just by looking at her roughly-hewn hair and vitreous lavender eyes.

"For the Tsuchikage's granddaughter, you don't seem to be very well informed." By now though, Jiraiya's smirk was all bravado, of which he had plenty.

"I'll say it once more: don't give me that bullshit." She turned her attention to Naruto at last, giving him a look that he hadn't know in some time. Hate. Disgust. For him alone, not even diffused by my burdensome weight. "Rumor travels fast. Word has it that one of the _Great_ Sanin took up an apprentice. A _blond-haired_ , _blue-eyed_ apprentice." There was venom dripping from the sneer she leveled at him, and he was at a loss at what to do with all the hate directed his way. "The Yodaime was also your apprentice. You'd have to think us as stupid as you Log-Lovers if we couldn't read between the lines. Even through the mist of Mizugakure they could see that he's _his_ son."

"If Iwa's information network is so poor that they have to rely on rumors," All it took was to see the humor banished from his master's face to cement the truth in his own mind. ", then you have my sincerest pity."

" _ **Pity?!**_ You can take your pity and shove-"

"-But that's not what we're here for!" Jiraiya's bellow even shook the stone-faced woman, abruptly cutting off her tirade.

"I understand that you have very little reason to trust us, and I will not even pretend that this is something sanctioned by our Hōkage-" Revealing that he had been aware of their negligence all along. "-but if nothing else, heed our warning that your Jinchῡriki are in danger! The Akatsuki will be coming after them any day now. We wish to help, but If you let us leave, we will go right now. There doesn't need to be a confrontation, you should save your strength in case those guys show up!"

It was a rhetorical bargain, something they had to say. Naruto already knew that. Just as he knew that there was no way he'd agree to just walk away after coming this far. There'd been no rest in between Konoha and Earth Country, no sliver of sleep where he could check and assuage his fears that Ruby was alright. The not knowing, the twitchiness and short temper which had been festering all week would not _let_ him walk away at this point. Still not wanting to do battle, he would go _through_ these Rock-nin if they got in his way.

"Disgusting…" Directed to both him and Jiraiya's words which the woman clearly didn't believe, her crossed-arm stance trembled with tangible rage.

Rage. That was familiar to me. I'd felt its nettling as I lay siege to those human establishments. I'd felt it crawling up my throat when those same apes had tried to enslave me. It was something I knew well. Yet, seeing it here felt different. Such that I had to agree with the hateful woman's assessment.

Disgusting. That emotion was putrid and vile, spoiling what might have even been a knife-like beauty so like our own Little Rose. I knew why she gave in to this feeling, the addictive nature of vengeance especially potent against a dead man. Naruto's father, the Yodaime Hōkage had slaughtered hundreds of Iwa shinobi, and there always needed to be retribution.

The endless cycle.

There would be no love after this murder though. Either he killed her, or she killed him. Neither would be satisfying and each leaving a hunger for more. Yugito recognized this. Naruto made her. Would he bothered to remember this lesson now?

"It's revolting how you can concoct such a contemptable lie with a straight face. We might be ninja, but as a Senin, have you no shame?"

Once again, the ability of humans to smile in the darkest of scenarios brought an ironic smirk to the self-proclaimed pervert's face.

"Sorry babe. But no, not really." The nonchalance or the nickname- maybe both staggered the woman with an incensed blush. "I'll fully admit that I'm dishonest. But It's the stupidly honest ones that you **really** have to worry about."

The Tsuchikage's granddaughter was a Jōnin- a skilled one at that. Rumor had it she was next in line for the position herself. Sadly, all that meant little when one is so blinded by rage that they can't see the forest through the trees.

In accordance with her skill, she had already drawn her chokutō and spun around, aiming to decapitate the adversary who had somehow gotten behind her. But the long handle of the opposing weapon had already reached out to nail her right in the stomach, forcing the wind out of her sails as she crumpled down onto her stone podium.

"I'm sorry."

Wanting to spit on his frowning visage, but unable to with her body still struggling for an inward breath, she settled for memorizing his hypocritical face as it bent down to whisper in her ear.

"I really am. But you're in my way."

"Why you-"

Her invective reflected off the polished surface of a serrated blade, grinning peaks caressing her chin.

"We don't want to fight."

The human ability to be so myopic always dumbfounded me. The rest of the Rock-ninja entourage could see the truth well enough, but with her head almost literally in the sand, the same could not be said for their commander who even now cursed Naruto's very being. Yet another not willing to remove the blinders of hate.

"Please, let us help or let us go. There is no point in bloodshed."

It was a statement and not a plea. And as he projected it out to the awestruck Iwa-nin who looked up at him as the revenant specter of death, he himself glanced down at his hostage. Trembling not with fear but with continued rage, she paid no heed to the two points slowly digging into either jugular as she struggled against the instinct to lunge and strangle him. Only just resisting becoming a martyr.

"What's your name?"

"Go to hell, you cock-spawn."

"Her name's Kurotsuchi." His master informed him, landing by his side amidst the stadium of faces torn between two powerful emotions and churning them like a stormy sea. Arguably the safest, and most dangerous place in the eye of the storm.

"Kurotsuchi." The woman wasn't there, only a mindless beast which emitted a threatening growl. "I don't want to hurt you or your comrades. Please, for all our sake's, recall them."

"Even if you weren't holding an oversized gardening tool to my neck, do you think I would be stupid enough to do that?" Controlling her words but pressing even further into his blade and drawing two small trickles form either side of her neck. "You're my **enemy**. Even if you weren't one of those Tree-Huggers, you're _his_ son. I hate you, and I sure as hell don't trust you."

"You don't even know me." The statement was sorrowful rather than contrary. Expecting no more or less.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto." He said before she could formulate another scathing retort. "I'm the Jinchῡriki for the Nine-Tailed Fox, a shinobi of Konohagakure, along with a few other things." This was no place to guess or to boast. "-I never considered myself anything more. Not the Yellow Flash's son, and certainly not a killer. That's my reality. The fact that you hate me is your decision, and no one else's."

Handing the burden on to her, he did something no one within earshot expected, removing his blade from her neck and planting it in the ground so that the re-forged and unsullied blade stood like shining standard declaring his values.

The incredulity only lasted a millisecond, long enough for the body to send a signal to her brain that there were no longer any points at her neck holding her back. Seals which had been hammered into her head since she was a child played themselves out with her hands before she even realized what she was doing, eyes widening with hungry opportunity just as she reached the last in the sequence-

And was promptly kicked in the chest.

Flying through the air and once again robbed of her kill as well as her senses, it didn't register when the once-rocky terrain of her homeland was overcome with a sudden deluge. Tumbling weightlessly, she might have thought back to the time her father took her to the beach, and she pictured herself flying above the waves like a seagull.

I like to muse about these things, sometimes.

It took the mind off the bitter reality of her body slapping the water, and some thirty-odd Rock ninja who were crushed by the oncoming flood which was so powerful it tore a new canyon into the landscape. Already on the high ground, Jiraiya and Naruto were spared as well, but only just as they leapt well enough into the air to put themselves above the highwater mark.

Landing solidly on the churning waves which concealed the suffocating corpses was difficult in itself, but their troubles weren't over. As when Naruto made to rush for the floundering Kurotsuchi, the body of water was suddenly revealed to be an ocean with dangerous wildlife out for his hide. Sharks made of the briny liquid leapt from the surface to throw themselves against him.

They were just water, so he cleaved through them like they weren't even there. More were still gestating beneath the surface, but even those were not immune to him as he raked the undulating scythe through the water and parted the artificial sea, dispelling the technique if not that tide.

"Oho~, so it seems that the rumors really were true." Flicking the scythe to lay horizontal at his hip, dewdrops flung into the air and created a rainbow that would have been beautiful if not for the dreary setting. "The brat's gotten better since we last saw him, eh, Itachi?"

"You messed up." Like an echo, Itachi's voice was never heard except for with the shark-man Kisame. "You were supposed to let them face the Iwa-ninja first, and then capture him when they were worn out from fighting."

The blasé banter confirmed what he already knew- what _we_ should have known all along. It had been a trap.

"Sorry about that, Itachi-kun. I really thought he was going to let that heartless woman kill him." The blue-skinned giant next to the Uchiha gave him a grin showing two pearly-white rows of jagged teeth. "Don't get me wrong, though. I'm glad he survived. I would have been disappointed if I didn't get a chance to cut loose a little bit. Those other Jinchῡriki were hardly a challenge at all."

Whether this was goading or not hardly mattered, as much as any words of caution I might have given him. The mere thought that we were too late was enough to boil the blood and rattle the bars to my cage.

"Don't let them get you, Naruto!"

The Toad-Sage's greatest feature was his most underrated. Only a few still called him by his old title: Konoha's Madness. But the manic ability to switch from an aloof letch to a battle-hardened warrior saved not only his mind, but his hide and those of others.

"We should retreat, especially if they are telling the truth then there's no reason to stick around."

Then sometimes, he forgot to abide by his own rule, and started making sense. Sometimes a little bit of madness was exactly what was needed.

"Do you really think they're going to let us leave?" Tightening the grip on _Radiant Thorn_ and subtly molding the Chakra inside his core, it was clear what Naruto thought the answer to that question was.

"Don't be a fool, Gaki. I can't protect you against the both of them. We can still make it if we push to break through right now."

Being protected was the last thing he wanted. Wasn't his whole purpose to protect others? He'd failed miserably so far. And with those missteps, he'd been backed against a wall. No escape awaited him when he squeezed his eyes. No consolation prize if he should run away now. In the blink of an eye, all of his goals and his purpose had been snatched from his grip.

There was no denying that he is kindred to me. Is it then a wonder that he would fight tooth and nail to get them back?

Kisame blocked the downward slash casually with the wrapped package on his back, the stout sword which lay within squirming to be let out to play. It would not have to wait long.

Once its covered form was used to bludgeon the solid clone, another lightning-fast strike sparked along the incredible length from a new angle, a new clone. The friction between weapons charred the gauzy wrap on the weapon. Jerking it up for a split-second defense, the tattered remains were shed like a skin to unveil the horrid surface of living scales underneath.

"My, my, that's mighty kind of you to indulge me." The blue-skinned man snarked unperturbedly despite the quivering interlock of blades. "Try to make it last at least a little bit longer than the others, eh?"

Jaw clenched so he wouldn't bite his tongue, Naruto vaulted backwards when it was clear he was losing the battle of attrition to the man who was known as the 'Tailless Bijῡ'. Not before he left a parting gift in the form of an explosive tag on the other side of Kisame's massive cleaver which, like the other time, gave him a moment of respite before he was harassed again.

"Ha ha! This just keeps getting more and more interesting!" Pointed smile beaming with the compliment, all the while hammering away at Naruto's defenses which were slipping ever time the scaly sword slammed against him. "Normally _Samaheda_ sucks the Chakra right out of those tags, but you've made something that negates that! Maybe you can tell me how it works before we extract the Kyῡbi from your seal."

"Neither of those things is happening."

It was with admirable determination that he announced this. But all the effort in the world sometimes wasn't enough but to delay the inevitable. Naruto was getting out-dueled, if only because the man had both years of experience and about twice the weight on him. Putting up an admirable show wasn't good enough, and he could only rely on Jiraiya to keep Itachi off his back.

He held one advantage, though. Kisame might have had massive Chakra reserves, but he was no Jinchῡriki.

" **Let me.** "

Nary a pause when I spoke to him this time, he formed a single hand-seal and the entire surface of the water was covered with an orange and black algal bloom. The rapid-fire pops of clones being ravaged left and right proved enough distraction for him to scoot aside and allow me room to work.

The next second saw Kisame right in our face, the scaled tip of Samaheda staring us down like the rocks at the bottom of a cliff. Not even bothering with the other clones, he charged straight for us like the single-minded predator that he is.

But foxes are predators too, and where the direct route might fail, we don't mind getting our paws dirty.

Sandaled feet got wet as Naruto's whole body sunk under the weight of the blow. _Radiant Thorn_ didn't so much as flex, but the same could not be said for Naruto's arms which bowed against his will. Kisame already knew the moment when Naruto flashed out of the sticky situation- and right into his cracking backhand.

Another flicker, another deflection. There was no question that Naruto was faster, more adept at the Shunshin technique. But those facts mattered little to Kisame who, while being nearly twice the height of a normal man, was quick as a whip to reverse the direction of his blade and intercept every surprise attack.

He was even ready when Naruto backed off again and a gang of his clones sprung from the water like a living beartrap on the fish-man. The jaws came up to close around him- and stopped. Every one of the blond clones were encased in clear marbles of water, perfectly preserving that moment of surprise like an insect mounted in acrylic.

"Ha, ha, ha! Silly boy, don't you understand that I know everything that's happening in and on top of the water? The sea is my domain!" This declaration was accompanied by him whacking the entrapped clones like he was a slugger at a batting cage, the human-sized spheres tumbling at him at worrying velocities.

It was a quick and simple matter to dispel them, the contained cells collapsing in on themselves without something solid to prop them up. But through this vapor screen the Shark swam, launching out once again to tear into his flesh.

Kisame's blade wasn't sharp, so when it first smashed into him he was merely driven back, breathless, clinging on and digging in for dear life as he tried to slow it down. Next would come the tear, with but a flick of the wrist, _Samaheda's_ barbed scales would flay all the flesh off his bones.

Nothing he could do would stop that from happening, the shark-man's mouth splitting into a wide grin as he smelled fresh blood in the water. With a casualness he strolled over to the floating corpse and plucked it out of the surf by a scrap of its shredded jacket.

"Come on brat, quit playing dead. I know something like that's not enough to take down someone like you. I had to hold back enough to keep you alive for the unsealing, anyway." But even as he said these words, a worried frown trod its way over his confident smirk. The body he held in his hands wasn't breathing.

But it was sizzling.

"Shit!"

This explosion was roughly ten times the previous, and would have done some lasting damage had Kisame not interposed a wall of water between him and it. Still, water is non-compressible, and I have no doubt that it rattled the bones in his hands pressed up to maintain the shield.

"What the hell was that-?"

The time spent watching over pseudo-Ruby did not serve to further our goals with figuring out either the trick to the universal connection nor the Hiraishin. But that was not to say that it bore no fruit.

Somehow, the copy which had filtered into our world was more substantial than a clone. More durable and longer lasting, there was an additional component which set it aside from the shadow clones Naruto used on a daily basis.

Flesh and blood. That is what we tried to recreate, and managed to succeed. Though treading dangerously close to the abominations perpetrated by the renegade Sanin Orochimaru, we never went that last, unforgivable step. It was only ever a shell, meant to be inhabited.

Or, in this case, to be blown up as a distraction.

Though it also takes a lot of concentration, and time. Not something normally suited for a battle where life and death rested only a heartbeat away. But that was a precondition for normal people, and Naruto was anything but normal. He had me to do the hard part for him.

"Don't think that'll save you, kid!"

Clearly anticipating for the scythe to cleave through his wall like a wheat sheaf, it is safe to say the Kisame wasn't prepared to stagger back under the unprecedented force. Poise taking a hit more than body, he was quick to regain his footing and press back, suddenly keen to take a more serious approach to this duel.

"Sugoi! You've gotten even stronger since we started! It's a good thing we decided to go after you now, you would've actually been a pain in the ass later. But-" A foot proportional to his massive body lashed out and connected with its target, breaking the deadlock and sending the crescent blade back into the sky. "-You're a hundred years too early to face me."

Madness garners respect. It's a kind of superpower. You might be the most bloodthirsty and terrifying killer out there, bar none. And yet, you still fear the possibility that there's someone stronger, and that paranoia drives you to the edge of madness. But never over it. Because once you're over it, you don't care. And when you don't care,

You can do anything.

" _ **Sorry,**_ " So when Kisame's kick failed to crumple the boy half his size, that unknown, that possibility of anything and the crazed grin to go with it reared its ugly head with an equally disturbing smile. " _ **I think you've got the wrong person…**_ "

I dare do all it is to become a man, he who dares more is none.

And above us, a hand reached out to pluck that crescent moon blade from the sky. Man and weapon casting a shadow which was beautiful as well as terrifying. Despite this, Kisame was obviously more perplexed than anxious, only because he hadn't figured out the one at the end of his kick wasn't an ordinary clone which would vanish with a single tap.

This was me.

" _ **Now, Naruto!**_ "

My scream was more out of eagerness than concern, seeing that S-Rank killer turn a lighter shade of blue for just a moment when he did realize azure eyes no longer held him captive, but crimson.

Only for a moment.

A brief moment stretched longer as _Radiant Thorn_ sunk all of a fingernail's width into the skin of _Samaheda_ \- the extent of all his Chakra and strength dumped into that blow.

"Your tricks are getting old…" Anger surpassed whatever shock was involved with the damage to his blade. But we weren't done.

" _ **This is one of mine!**_ "

Impossible as it is to imagine, when his precious blade was nicked it seems Kisame actually forgot about the clawed hands digging into his calf. He wouldn't ignore the mouth of teeth as they tore into his kneecap, though, couldn't forget the vicious face of a fox as it severed his Achilles tendon.

"Gah! What in the hell?!"

This was my body. At least it was temporarily. And I could do anything, would do anything to win.

But it never seemed to be enough.

So close! Through trial and error we'd stumbled upon this technique, a means to create a hollow shell, a vessel. I head learned the human corpse as well as my own so that with a concerted effort I might mold a perfect body. Not for myself, not for my own whims. If we had no luck traveling there, why not bring her here? That was the original inspiration drawn from the not-Ruby.

So close! Alas, and now so far. With Ruby completely unconscious on the other side, both directions appeared barred with the colorless veil. I was too late. Why had I wasted all that time in silence? What had all the effort been for if life was just going to take it all away?

Never before had I known disappointment, never before had I known failure such as this.

I had failed them! That was a pain far worse than the sword repeatedly tearing into my back, trying to make me let me go. Let it rip! The pain of this animated flesh was fleeting, it was _nothing_ compared to the pain of losing her yet again! This wasn't my body, this wasn't my soul! For me, it was all expendable.

All to save that brilliant spirit and ones like it.

"Die! You mangy rat!"

"Leave him alone!"

Admirable that he should fight for me, even if it was just a fleshy puppet. Gods did it hurt, though.

It was hazy what happened from there as my consciousness flittered between the meat-clone and that widow's watch behind Naruto's eyes. It was disconcerting, a little nauseating even. I suppose that's to be expected when you're looking at your 'own' body get turned into chum.

I do know that Naruto easily snuck past Kisame's distracted flailing, sinking a deep gash into his thigh. For his trouble, the Akatsuki answered with one of his own, managing a crude wound on Naruto's shoulder. I gave up whatever control I had left in that disintegrating clone and focused on healing Naruto and restoring his Chakra.

Those two fleshy-clones nearly drained him, even if most of their energy came from me. Not only does it take an extreme concentration to arrange something as complex as the nervous system, it takes an almost infinite amount of energy to create matter from nothing and sustain it for a few seconds- let alone a few minutes.

But if it would give us the opportunity we needed, it would be worth all of it.

His blood spiked with my potent Chakra, Naruto flew at Kisame in a literal sense, jettisoning off the surface with a spray of saltwater behind him. The man was just that much slower with the damage to his left leg, staggering after the human cannonball impacted him, and slowly succumbing to the rabid attrition which followed. It looked like Naruto finally had the upper hand.

That, of course, is when everything took another right turn.

"Naruto-kun."

Those words were a cold hand from the past, brambles snagging him in his advance. He knew the voice, and if Itachi was speaking to him so casually, that meant…

"Jiraiya!"

He could see the man only as a red and green abscess stuck onto a rocky outcrop like a piece of discarded gum. Couldn't tell if he was breathing, not even if he was still alive.

If Itachi was standing here before him, it wasn't likely.

"As you can see, Jiraiya-sama won't be able to help you any longer. I suggest you come with us quietly. If you do, we might even spare that Iwa kunochi."

Even if it were the truth, that was but a tiny salve in the giant bucket of festering shit this turned into. Since it began, Kurotsuchi hadn't even crossed my mind, and her sparing would be of little consolation if this was truly the end. I would do my best to prevent that, but could not help those undermining doubts from creeping in, wondering what our possible demise would do to the bond. It was not something any of us had dared contemplate before.

Then I heard him whisper, something so small that I thought it might have just been an echo of one of his memories wandering these lonely hallways. He came to me in my cage, suggesting that he might tear off the seal which kept me bound. A last resort for someone at the end of his rope.

How long ago would this have pleased me? It had been my sole desire to be in this exact situation, to have the one who held the shackles on their knees in front of me. When had it ceased to be my dream? I could not remember. But no longer was Naruto's life an acceptable price to pay.

I sought another option, but what was there? Things were already moving so fast, slipping so far out of control that putting on the breaks only served to create that noxious smell of burning rubber which clouded thoughts and battered at the inside of the skull.

Or maybe, that was something else.

" **What are you doing in here?!"**

Naruto and I found ourselves in the infuriating presence of that prodigal Uchiha. Realizing that he must have made eye-contact through the reflection in the water, and thus gained access to my seal.

I would have feasted on his flesh if only those bars hadn't been in my way. In that moment of rage, I dare say that I no longer cared **what** toll was owed so long as I could rip his throat out with my own two paws.

And while I snapped futilely at my bonds, he had only eyes for Naruto who had been so taken aback by the intrusion that he had no time to avert his gaze. I don't remember if I snarled or cried out his name when he was sucked into that damning illusion of the Mangekyō Sharingan, which with but a glance tested the very limits of a human's mind. Took him to a world controlled entirely by the Uchiha, where time itself bowed down to his whims.

And for better or worse, I went along for the ride.

* * *

"It's good to see you again, Naruto-kun."

This was not the most grounding of statements for a world which felt upside down and inside out. Feelings of disorientation and inversion of every sense including color made it impossible for me to find my own place among this imaginary wasteland.

Naruto was easy enough to spot as all the light seemed to bend towards him and Itachi.

"You've grown quite a bit since I last saw you."

It had indeed been an eventful three years.

Somehow, I had the distinct feeling that he was talking about a time even further back than that, though. In the memories I watched like cinema, there was occasionally a raven which poked its head into a juvenile Naruto's life every now and then. Before I never gave it a second thought, as the same bird followed Ruby when she wandered alone in the forest. Only now did I realize that the two were different.

"Let me go, Itachi."

Wrists and ankles tightly bound to a cross, and his tormentor but a stone's throw away did not diminish Naruto Uzumaki's fortitude. If anything, it seemed to focus it. If only he could surmount this obstacle, he could get away. To home, to his master, to his fellow Jinchῡriki,

To Ruby.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Naruto-kun." There was nothing apologetic about that flat tone, and even less about the ninjato which he clutched innocuously in his right hand.

"Nothing you can do in here can really hurt me." Naruto pointed out, equally callously. "And when I get out, I **will** tear you to shreds." His pacifist ideals suspended, that was promise that I was more than willing to back him up on.

"We shall see." He approached the crucifix. "I have twenty-four hours to test that theory."

The blade plunged into Naruto's gut and he did not cry out. Merely sucked down air through his flaring nostrils as teeth clenched that they might break- but would not give in to the pain. Then it twisted- and he had no choice in the matter.

The blade carved so slowly across his stomach that even detached as I was, there was a physical empathy which I could only imagine was but a fraction of the real thing. And it lasted for hours- nay, days. The screams of the dying had never disturbed me before this day, and I tried to remember a time where they did not. But everything was overridden by that moan which rent through the eldritch world.

At last it was over. Nothing was left of the gaping wounds which left entrails dangling like the hangman's rope. A blink of the eye and they were healed, restored to the way things were if not normal.

"Twenty-three hours, fifty-nine minutes to go."

The statement spoke as if relating the weather. To me, it was as a knife coming to cut the invisible strings which bound us together. I could feel Naruto slipping away, and could only turn that knife inwards to berate my helplessness.

I could not bear to watch the blade rise again, but I also could not look away. Physically unable, but also bearing the grim duty of being the record keeper to this tragic saga. It came down to take the next cut.

In that world of nothingness, the only sounds were the illusion of breathing, the blade sliding over flesh, and the screams. So, when following that familiar noise of metal meeting flesh there was an unearthly silence, it was impossible not to notice.

Itachi paused in his advance to look down. To the ground, where his severed arm still clutched the hilt of his weapon as it stuck out of the ground like a grave marker. Only his pinwheel eyes expressed the incredulity as he looked up at Naruto for a brief moment, and then his head was separated from his body which dissolved into a murder of crows.

From the start it had been an illusion. We had known this all along, just as we knew not to stare the man directly in the eyes to avoid falling into this world of Tsukuyomi. But somewhere along the lines, imagination had fallen away and left only the stark reality that neither of us were getting out of here alive.

So which one was it that now confronted us? That sly grin and welcoming eyes which we had dreamt of for so long had become an ancient legend. And yet to see it here, in an illusionary world created for the sole purpose of torture, there was no denying its veracity.

Ruby cast back her crimson cowl and smiled up at her martyr on the cross, _Crescent Rose_ fleshing out her slender presence. A breeze tussled that cloak, picking up rose petals that were never there before and wiping away the tears from his eyes.

"I found you."


	27. Theodicy

**Just consider this the new normal, where the good times are going to let you down again. I tried to get this out yesterday, but the six-hour drive killed me, and then I had classes today. Sort-of alive now.**

 **Alive enough. We go on.**

 **Once again, thanks to all those who left word. The questions by guests and unregistered readers didn't, and won't be answered here. But that's okay, because the story should speak for itself. If not, just rest assured that they will be, and to most who are doubting, rest assured. I never fall into clichés. I only throw myself in willingly.**

 **Oh, and thanks once again to Drag0n5on, without whom I never would have even finished this chapter.**

* * *

Learning is a process.

For example, it took two lifetimes of passive interaction for me to learn certain human idioms and idiosyncrasies. And still, I do not pretend to understand all of them.

I understand **why** they use them. Such tiny minds are incapable of thinking much outside their own calciferous containers, and so they equate new experiences with things they already know.

Thus, we come to a sea of blackness.

Whatever I may be, god or demon, I am part of nature's dominion. Humans compared me to a living natural disaster because that's what they can comprehend, but no one can fully grasp nature's undeniability. Never did I fear it, but there was, and still is, a healthy respect for its brutality.

I remember standing in front of the sea, long ago, saying goodbye to Isobu for the first and last time. It swallowed him like a piece of driftwood, no different than the man-made ships I picked apart in dock. The experience was humbling, to say the least. Sitting in front of the endless sea, so peaceable, yet with an enmity hidden within the listlessness of each wave. Both parts of the whole.

So many human sayings revolved around the sea. I now know why.

This darkness was massive, and daunting. Like the sea, concealing an unknown.

I had lived long enough to learn about these things. Would the others be able to do the same?

There were plenty of fish in the sea, in this expansive unknown.

There were always ones bigger than you, lurking just beneath the surface.

* * *

Eyes wider than his stomach, he had bitten off more than he could chew.

"Hello, _Red_."

Roman Torchwick just hadn't realized it yet.

That impenetrable shroud broke just slightly- when and where I cannot say. The darkness prevailed, but that was mainly because of the blindfold over her eyes, accompanying the rough ropes digging into her ankles and wrists. I had sensation back, at least, and could cast my net further into the room to get a better understanding. Sadly, this advanced recognition did not extend its benefits to Ruby, and so she was like those fish who dwell in deep-sea trenches.

Blind, cold, and alone.

"Hi Roman." She said groggily. "Did you bring me back for a repeat performance?"

Also like those fish, hardy, and with a mouthful of fangs.

"Very funny."

Evidently his broken nose had healed, and the whistle accompanying his inhales had gone away.

His unlabored breath was still a cacophony of noise, more than enough for me to get the lay of the room from the sound bouncing off the walls. Much smaller, but no less dank and unadorned than the warehouse they had first met. This could best be described as a garage, or perhaps an empty office space as the smell of gypsum dust from broken drywall lingered in the air. The sounds of traffic outside were muted, if it was there at all.

"No, sorry. I'm afraid there's been a bit of a… _program_ change." The saccharine voice circled around as her steady pulse thumped against the constricting binds. "You've attracted the attention of some _discerning_ critics, Red. You wanted to act as an adult, so you're going to have to give a special… audition to see if you can make the cut."

The man had apparently also recovered his cane- _Melodious Cudgel_. That, or constructed a new one which caressed the bare skin on Ruby's cheek underneath her blindfold.

"…Um, Maybe you should just stick to normal threatening? I mean, do you know how much you sound like a creep just now?" Roman's long eyelashes fluttered, a sound like spooked pigeons. "…Or maybe you **do** know. EEW! EEW! EEW! Please don't tell me you're the kind of guy that's into that sort of thing! How old _is_ Neo anyway?"

A cut opened up on her cheek that didn't register until it started to flow. I didn't bother healing it, biding my time as Ruby was. The objective had been accomplished in any case, and the petit swordswoman was ascertained to be there too.

"Listen, you little brat." Another small spurt of crimson as the leather gloved hands clasped her cheeks roughly and turned her head to his voice. "If you're entertaining this to be a snuff film, I'm more than happy to skip to the end."

"Bwut you wondt." Lips pursed forcibly, Ruby responded. Torchwick let go.

"And how do you figure that?"

"You kidnapped me."

"Maybe I just wanted to savor this moment uninterrupted?"

Ruby shrugged in her bindings. Gut instincts did not just go away. If Roman was half the criminal he professed to be, he'd make sure the prophecy he'd foretold would never have a chance to gestate.

There were many problems with that, of course. Killing her would no doubt bring down the entire wrath of Beacon on his shoulders. Not to mention, there was the opinion of the one who'd sprung them from jail to consider.

"Won't your boss be upset?"

Fear was something I knew how to sense, and no matter how skilled a poker-player (or cheater, as I suspected Roman Torchwick to be), he could not hide that instantaneous ping on my radar.

"How do you know about her?"

The retort was calm, carefully replacing that suave mask. It was an actual question.

They had brought her there to interrogate her, to see how much Ozpin knew about their racket. I could not tell her this, however, and could only hope that some of Naruto and my combined deviousness seeped into her logic.

"I dunno. You just kind of seem like the kind of person to be pussy-whipped." Gesturing with her shoulder to where she thought Neo to be.

Learning is a process, and it would only be much later that we would both learn that particular phrase did not in fact refer to a cat.

The snickers from the mute-girl might have been silent, but her shoulders heaving up and down sent vibrations through the concrete floor and up through Ruby's bare feet. (Those uncouth people had even taken her boots!)

I'm sure Roman was seething, but he was also capable of swallowing untold amounts of humiliation if it meant survival. That could be counted as one of his better traits.

"Apparently, your parents never taught you to answer a question when asked." His humility did nothing for his patience, however, and it showed as he wedged the aluminum cane underneath Ruby's jaw. "So I'll ask again: how do you know about that?"

"I answer questions all the time." She stated blithely, unperturbed by the threat. "Usually I have to raise my hand if I'm called on in class, but I can't exactly do that here. Speaking of, I really ought to be getting back, so can we do this another time?"

The sound of Roman's deep breathing drowned out just about everything else as he reigned in his consternation.

"Classes, kiddo, are going to be the least of your worries." The cane rested back on the floor with a solid clonk, giving me a little more detail with the high-pitched frequency. "I've got all the time in the world to get what I need out of you. So how long you stay as our guest is not up to me."

Neither did he mean it was up to her. It was whomever was giving this lowlife criminal orders that decided her fate.

Ruby wasn't one to abide by those kinds of things, though.

"Well, I really need to be getting back." Her team was probably worried sick, how long had she been gone? "So you really should let me go. Did you do these knots? They're really pretty tight. Please tell me you know how to untie them."

"Yeah, I tied them." He replied with too much self-satisfaction. "But why would I want to do that? I went through all this effort to bring you out here so we could play again. How could I let you go so soon?"

Again, Ruby shrugged silently.

"Because if you don't… _ **I'll do it myself**_."

The animalistic voice coming from this twiggy body was more than just a shock to Roman and Neo, it was a shock to me as well as I checked to see if I was unwittingly feeding her Chakra. I hadn't even tried to heal the cut on her cheek for this very reason, and yet the feeling was there all the same. It was impossible not to recognize a part of myself in that promise.

"…Plus, I kind of have to go to the bathroom." Shifting her legs against the other in her restraints, the mood was lost, if not the memory.

"…Um, how about: no way?" Eliminating the lingering malaise with a shiver, Torchwick snorted at the preposterous suggestion. "Do you think I was born yesterday? You're going to use that as a chance to escape."

"No. I'm serious. I really have to go." Squirming ever more in her binds, I could feel the empathetic unease from Neo hanging somewhere in the sidelines.

"Not happening."

"I'm going to wet myself!"

"Go ahead."

"Not in front of you!"

"I am **not** letting you out of my sight."

"Gah! You **are** just a pervert!"

"Wha- No I'm not!"

"Then let me go to the bathroom!"

"I'm not stopping you!"

"But then I'll be all wet and stinky and gross!"

"Not my problem!"

" _ **I'll make it your problem!**_ "

The resurgence of this malign tone put a hitch in the man's step and breath. Turning away to break himself of the vile and tarry attraction which was like a black and red flytrap, he looked instead to his partner, who was giving him a look I can only fathom as disapproval.

Their silent conversations must have been fascinating, and an aspect of the career criminal that I had not appreciated until this point. Nor could I now, for in that excruciatingly long pause, I had to yet again contend with the absolute torment of a near-bursting bladder which flooded into all other thought.

Let it be known, that humans are disgusting.

"…Fine!"

After untold minutes of beratement conducted only in gestures I cannot begin to guess, the sympathy from the fellow female finally won out.

"Just hold your horses and…" He sniffed the air.

By then, it was too late.

" _ **Now… it's your problem.**_ "

* * *

Those poor saps.

I do not refer to the borderline inept and woefully unprepared criminals aforementioned, but rather to the unsuspecting students of Beacon.

One had to be a bit mentally flexible to become a huntsman or huntress in the first place, fighting monsters and possibly fellow man. After their initiation and all the sordid affairs seen within the academy halls thus far, the majority felt that they were ready for the trials waiting on the outside world.

Those poor fools didn't know how wrong they were.

This wasn't the first time she had captured the attention of the entire dining hall. Last time though, there had been whispers like the dry zephyr fanning a flame. Now, all was icily silent.

Not a titter, not a giggle, nor even a gasp or a grunt. The only sounds were her bare feet on the cold tile and the lurching rasp behind her.

The eyes were similarly wide with trepidation and unease, but the questions went unasked. Speculation was not even entertained. This time, there was more than a fear or suspicion, there was reverence.

How many times have I said before that insanity is a kind of superpower? Battered, bleeding, and covered in chalky white dust as she was, dragging the even more bedraggled bodies of Torchwick and his accomplice, Ruby could have passed through the middle of a bandit camp unmolested. The tides parted under her searching stare which looked right through them.

Until she found what she wanted.

Still with the burden trailing behind her, she hobbled over to the communal table where her team and JNPR sat in mute bewilderment, unable to convey whatever horrified shock or relief they might have felt.

Letting go of the dead weight (which many doubtlessly thought was literal), Ruby plodded wearily over to the empty space which had miraculously opened on the bench between her friends and comrades, sitting down with a meager thump. Not a sound was made by her teammates nor even her faithful sister who were all overcome by physical sensation, the reek of ammonia, nettling of shed dust in their eyes, or the sight of crimson footprints on the tile floor.

Not a word, until she spoke.

"Tadaima."

She gave them a baleful smile… and promptly passed out face-first into a strawberry Sunday which had long since melted.

* * *

Puckered lips tasted strawberry, and a something else musky yet minty like the mulch on the forest floor. It was soothing, revitalizing, inflating the lungs and the ego and breaching the mind past that frozen surface.

Then he coughed, and all he could taste was brackish bile.

"Take it easy, just breathe."

He heeded the advice, noting the professional yet feminine note and trying to orient himself around it. Fitting a face to it was difficult as he tried to banish all the Remnant personalities which kept popping up. Eventually coming up empty.

"Try to sit up."

There was no try, as the strong arm lifted him perpendicular so that the leftover saltwater did not settle in his lungs.

"Hmph, I hope this isn't going to be your typical reaction when making it to first-base, Brat. As my student, you have a reputation to uphold."

"Jiraiya-sama, please…"

It wasn't so much the words of his master which sucked him from his stupor, rather the dangerous lilt underneath the deferential address. He knew the brogue of an angry woman (as he'd all but been one) and didn't want to be anywhere near it. Almost immediately he was on his feet- then on his rear again as his legs gave out from underneath him.

"Now you've done it! Go away! You may be a Sanin, but I won't let you antagonize my patients."

"Sorry, sorry." Naruto could hear the simpering tone his master always adopted when being browbeaten by the fairer species. "I'll be good. Just let me stay with my pupil while he gets his wits about him."

The man would not have to wait all that long as the remaining liquid boiled off in a spark of panic which was only settled by the memory lingering like the smell of hickory. In that short time, the proclaimed healer remained silent, acquiescing to the disturbingly somber request.

"Jiraiya…" Naruto wheezed out, having no other choice than to lay eyes on the gargantuan man first before turning towards the source of the gentle ministrations on his back. "Sakura-san."

Pleased at her patient regaining his coherence, or perhaps at being remembered, the pink-haired girl gave him a professional smile.

"Ohisashiburi, Naruto-san." He nodded politely.

"What're you doing here?"

Naruto and Ruby both had learned to function despite grogginess, letting their bodies work independently of their minds which were often resistant to the change of scenery, trailing behind in the other world with cosmic jetlag. So while his mind was still in the Beacon dining hall, his body was searching for his weapon, enemies, and answers.

She answered by rolling her eyes.

"Shishuo was none too pleased when she found out that you two had skipped town without her permission. It didn't take too long to figure out where you had gone after Kotetsu and Izumo noted your departure."

For him though, it took longer than usual to catch up to the discussion. Those necessary leaps of logic still obscured by the fog- or was that smoke? In that time, his master came to the rescue with arms folded defending a serious expression.

"That would be my fault, I guess I forgot to get a permission-slip before I left."

The girl's pretty face which could have easily passed for the middle-child of the Xiao-Long family scrunched up in a disapproving manner to the flippant excuse.

Naruto meanwhile noted his master's somber gaze directed at him, demanding his compliance.

"This isn't exactly a laughing matter, Jiraiya-sama." Sakura shook her head but declined further admonishment, knowing the man's character after studying under his former teammate for the past few years.

"Does it look like I'm laughing?"

No, it did not. Not even that half-crazed smile which promised victory scraped out from the dregs of defeat was present. Thusly, without even asking, Naruto should have known the score.

"So, what happened?"

"I assume Itachi went after you when he thought he'd knocked me out of the game." Sequentially, Jiraiya started to fill in the blanks. "I'd hoped you would have thought better of me than to be taken out so easily. Actually, I'd **really** hoped that you would know better than to get trapped in his genjutsu, but I guess that we still need more practice." Dispelling the disapproval with a shrug. "Either that, or luck truly wasn't on our side today."

A little of column A, a little of column B, in this case. For as much as I boast of my prowess, it grates me to admit that I am susceptible to the Sharingan, and so Naruto needed to be able to protect us both. Yet, our luck failing to keep us out of the frying pan, saved us from the fire. For who could have guessed that Ruby would come to our rescue? Even when she was entrapped herself.

"How **did** you escape the Tsukuyomi?" It was a question that Jiraiya wanted answered too. Alas, an explanation was not forthcoming.

He regarded our silence with the same concerned suspicion that had plagued the entirety of the training trip for those two and a half years. Like then, he declined to say anything.

"…Anyways, after bailing you out and making sure that Rock-Head didn't drown, I was prepared to make a dash for the border when I was intercepted halfway." He passed the torch onto Sakura with a halfhearted gesture.

"Like I said, Tsunade-sama was quite upset when she found out you tw- _Jiraiya-sama_ had taken you two outside the village without her permission. So, knowing what kind of trouble you normally get into on your own," She gave him a playful smile that was only slightly strained. "she sent us to bring you back, hopefully in one piece."

"'Us'?" Questing as he patted himself down, noting that the only 'detachable' part of him was laying next to the traveling cloak he was sat upon, serrated blade no worse for the wear though due for an oiling.

"Hōkage-sama might be upset with her old teammate," A measured draught of a lecture forced his head to the side, watching the familiar face emerge from the sparse foliage. "But I'd be more concerned about how annoyed _your_ teammate is with you right now."

The smile which was automatically raised to his face upon seeing Neji, come to bail him out yet again, was quickly banished when he processed the implications of his words.

"Erm, Tenten's pretty mad, huh?" The whip-thin eyebrow cocked up for a lashing, letting him know Tenten wasn't the only one hurt by his galivanting.

"She's none too happy about being left behind with my 'cousin', no."

That information stung, but not nearly as much as when he realized that his teammate had omitted any sort of honorifics to his name. In their absence, a deep-seated dread took up residence.

"What happened."

"We got here in time to force the Akatsuki into a retreat." With a pause too short to ask where the other teen was, Neji gestured further on into the wooded expanse. "Sasuke's still out with the others, Lee-san, Hinata-sama, Kiba-san and Shino-san, who are doing their damnedest to assure he doesn't get himself killed chasing after his brother who disappeared shortly after we arrived." From his tone, he was not concerned about this possibility. "And thanks to Jiraiya-sama, we now at least have a free pass out of Rock-country."

"What Neji-san means is that the Jōnin you faced, Kurotsuchi, was handed over to a recovery team in exchange for safe passage." Sakura elaborated. "It was a good thing I doped her up after healing her, though. It seemed that she was still none too keen on letting you go, even after all that. But considering no serious damage had been done, and they got their commanding officer back, the Iwa-shinobi weren't looking to go up against a contingent that made Akatsuki retreat."

"So then, everything turned out alright?"

As he asked the question his mouth was dry. Moisture and hope both sucked out by that fire which was waxing, robbing him of oxygen.

"Roshi and Han, the JInchῡriki for the Yonbi and Gobi are alive. That was just their bluff to divert Iwa's attention elsewhere than our fight." The eldest spoke up when it was clear no one else wished to, his duty to deliver the grim news. "But it seems that this whole thing was a diversion in itself. Our intervention caused more of a stir than I anticipated with the other shinobi nations. Eyes and ears from every intelligence service knew what was going on only moments after we left because I let them. I thought it would provide critical information to our unwitting allies on the movements of the Akatsuki."

Jiraiya sighed, forcing himself to sit down against a rubbery tree-trunk, rubbing the creases on his face which were looking more pronounced than every before. Lines of age were visible past the umber tear-streak tattoos under his eyes, and he looked old.

"I should have realized that Akatsuki would take advantage of other nation's lowering their guard. I guess I'm getting more careless in my old age." Again, that smile. This time bitter at the irony which was life. "I suspect that Itachi and Kisame knew they were distractions and dragged the battle out because of that. Letting their other members operate in anonymity."

"What are you saying, Ero-Sensei?"

The smile withered and Jiraiya seemed to age another ten years with a sigh.

"Another one of Akatsuki's teams broke into Kumo and they got Yugito."

Hands made of the universe's ether slapped him upside the head, a pulse which throbbed in his skull and burst his eardrums. He was disoriented, lost sense of direction along with sound, the images swirled in front of his face as his eyes screwed up into his head.

And then he was unconscious.

* * *

" _I found you."_

 _Past the tears of pain and relief, there was a smile, along with that unbreakable levity which was like a solid rainbow in a world of black and white._

" _I wasn't going anywhere." He chuckled, wiggling his wrists within their binds, shoulder-blade digging into the wooden cross._

 _Suddenly they were gone, and he was on the war-torn ground amidst a field of broken and rusty weapons slowly being whittled away by oxidation and overcome by the unstoppable march of life as it sought to reclaim its territory._

 _He looked up to see the equally fecund smile gazing down at him, fingers like the breeze tussling his golden locks._

" _Is this… a dream?"_

" _Isn't it?"_

 _Surrounded by the polarized world of the Tsukuyomi, the bloody sky still hanging over them but with a few cracks in that moon which was pinned high above their heads._

" _But… you're here, aren't you? You're real."_

" _As real as you." She giggled._

 _As real as any of us. The illusion they found themselves in was both fixed and malleable, twenty-four hours which lasted a lifetime of pain, but an instant of satisfaction. How was this different than reality? How was it any worse?_

" _How did you get here?"_

" _Does it matter?"_

 _They did not have the time to waste on such questions, merely enjoying the moment they shared as the world crumbled at the horizon, the grass growing to envelop them._

 _It still begged to be answered. If only a cause could be found, the setting could be recreated. Somehow, someway, they might get a second chance._

 _But what if this was as good as it got? That brief moment of tranquility as everything fell apart around them, the pinnacle of a lifetime- of a thousand lifetimes._

 _How many lifetimes had it taken to bring them together? How many failed iterations had seen them develop separately, part prematurely? How many more turns of the wheel would it take to see them there again?_

 _In that infinite possibility of chances, both could agree that it was better to have found then lost, than to never have looked at all._

* * *

"Take me back…"

Words she'd never entertained before. Always sharing time readily, always ready to move forwards.

"Ruby! You're awake!"

Yes, but for once she wished she wasn't. If those images were the 'dreams' that people had told her about, it was scarce to fathom how they even got out of bed. A place where everything was at your command… what more could any desire?

This thought turned into a guilty burden under Yang's relieved face, stained and strained by sleeplessness and a restive conscience.

"I'm so glad!" The blonde hid that ugly expression in her sister's hair, tight yet careful not to exacerbate the recently bandaged injuries.

"I'm back." She whispered sheepishly.

"You had us really worried, you know."

The concern was not projected onto her creamy expression, but within the mere fact that the dark-haired girl was present and without her usual reading material.

"I'm sorry." Ruby patted her sister reassuringly on the back for lack of anything else and directed her attention to Blake. "I didn't really have a choice, though…"

"What happened?"

The question was clipped and assertive, betraying nothing out of the ordinary despite the team gathering in the sterilized nurse's ward. The demand was directed elsewhere, though. Impatience not with her leader and partner, but with the listlessness itself and whomever was responsible for it.

"Nice to see you too, Weiss." The white-haired girl huffed and folded her arms, possibly disguising a nod and blush with the snap of her head over her shoulder. Imagined or not, the prudish girl was there, and that was cause for celebration.

"Yay! You do care!"

"Idiot! I hope you didn't go and do something stupid just to find that out!" A delicate hand raised to her forehead diverted to flick pointedly back to the hospital bed. "-and that _doesn't_ mean I care. If our leader is incapacitated, it's only prudent that we make sure in case there needs to be a change in command."

Blake and Yang sent their other teammate condemning looks opposed to the beaming grin from the girl in bed who didn't look like she was letting either that or the cause of her institutionalization get her down.

"Well, I'm just fine! Thanks for checking, though."

"Oh no you don't!"

Past mistakes aside, Yang was not going to completely forego her familial duties and snatched up this opportunity to take care of her 'baby' sister. She was quick as a flash to secure the young rose back in bed with minimal force (for Yang, which meant that the metal struts under the bed almost buckled and the tiles underneath them cracked).

" **You're** staying in bed, missy. At least until the nurse gives you permission otherwise."

"Awww, but Yang!" Ruby pouted. "I can't stay cooped up in here! I'm going to get so far behind in school! -As your leader, I command you to carry me back to the dorm!"

"Not going to happen"

"Aw come on, pretty please?"

The boundless energy displayed by Ruby as she blathered on animatedly was a good indicator that the purple-bobbed nurse wasn't going to have much excuse to keep the girl bedridden for long. Blake herself seemed to become increasingly perturbed with the noise by the minute, and it was a foregone conclusion that no one in their right mind would hold up long under such a constant banter.

In fact, Ruby was carrying on like nothing had happened- like she hadn't dragged a half-dead Roman Torchwick and Neapolitan into a crowded dinner on her bare and bleeding feet. What was more, her sister was going along with the act- if it was an act at all and not the first signs of depravity infecting the lot.

Oh well, if you can't beat them…

"Homework shouldn't be an issue," Blake offhandedly slipped into the conversation, sitting down on the other chair adjacent to the bed. "You're already caught up on most of everything, and we can copy what notes you miss. Right Weiss?"

It was an olive branch, but the obstinate girl looked at it like it was barbed wire threatening to ensnare her.

"Ruby, what happened?"

She all but demanded. A different kind of insanity, repetition of an action and expecting a different outcome.

"Yes, I too would be curious to know."

The difference here was that another person had entered the room and changed the equation.

"Headmaster…"

"You gave us all quite a scare, Ms. Rose." Ozpin all but ignored the skittish Weiss who gave him a wide berth as he entered the room. "You seem to be faring better, though. I'm glad." As always, it was hard to tell if he meant it, but I suspect he didn't even know. "If you are feeling up to it, it would be good to understand how two criminals we thought were locked up in the jailhouse managed to not only break free, but break _into_ such a secure place as Beacon."

Usually it was hard to tell what Ozpin meant with his speech, words seemingly smokescreen to what was really going on underneath. Ruby had come to be able to read these, though, and knew he was not in the least bit curious. He already knew.

He wanted to know, _why_.

"Sure." Her smile was a degree past what would be considered happy, bordering on mad.

She wanted to know why, too.

* * *

"So it was during the foodfight, huh?"

Discomfort aside, the three young women sat like raptured children on baited breath and the cold infirmary floor. The headmaster was given preferential treatment to the 'storytime', though was perched on the edge of his seat all the same. He was enjoying the reenactment almost as much as the girl conducting it, despite the bandages constraining her movements.

"Isn't that what I said?" Out of breath by the end, Ruby collapsed dizzily back into the tangle of sheets.

"I think so…" Though none looked too confident when the question was passed around the room.

"We thought you were upset with us or something." Blake confessed, changing the topic. "And that you just wanted to be alone for a while, like last time. I'm -I'm really sorry…"

"No!" Like a robin she leered out of her nest at the startled feline. "No, don't feel bad! I can't believe that I made you guys think I was upset with you! You can't treat that like something normal- I won't do it anymore and I won't leave you guys alone ever, every again! I'm the one who should be sorry, as you leader I need go be responsible and available 24/7!"

"It really wasn't up to you this time…" The 'secret' Faunus tried to protest under the overbearing penitence of her leader.

"The whole thing is crazy." Weiss snipped, shaking her head but with a hint of satisfaction with her conclusion.

"Mm, fascinating." It might have been, but that smile was one which said Ozpin was keeping the best parts to himself. "I think that's enough for now, though. Best to let Ms. Rose get some rest, and you three have classes early tomorrow, correct?"

He chuckled at the collective groan, taking special pleasure as the one exempt made joyous faces with no mind to her booboos.

RWBY minus the R waved goodbye and departed like it was a normal occasion. Perhaps it would be, and was getting to that destination quickly. Life must change and adapt to survive, after all.

"Good night, you guys. Headmaster."

To them, tired as they were, the address was bidding farewell. To Ozpin, he heard the pause and stopped at the doorway, letting the footsteps ahead of him diminish to nothing. Then he carefully made sure the double-hinged doors were as shut as could be, a wave at the security monitors sent them into a three-minute loop. By the time he did all this and turned around though, Ruby was already but a silken cocoon on the mattress.

Unbothered, Ozpin sighed contentedly and smiled.

As he made to leave, switching off the lights with the same carelessness as he manipulated the security footage, he heard a whisper.

"Mm… It's so strange, I just wonder how Roman managed to sneak in here anyway?" Her eyes were almost glowing within her wrappings, an unnerving sight I imagine. "It's a shame we weren't on our usual patrols the night they got out. We were all tired though, so it's weird that someone would start a food fight then of all days. I suppose that it would have hidden any evidence of _tampering_ , though."

His lack of emotional response was an affront to my sense of caution. Hypocritical this may be, as I admired the Rikudō Senin for just such this unflappable attitude. Regardless, I had learned from my hosts to trust a gut feeling.

"Ah well, maybe somethings are better left a mystery."

"Goodnight, Ms. Rose."

It's not always good to solve every little thing, upturn every stone. Sometimes it's just better to admire the garden path. Poisonous things often lurk in the darkness.

Though if you just focus on the creepy-crawlies, or even the shady trail, you risk missing the roses.

* * *

"I'm back."

His smile was as weary as the legs which barely held him upright. Content enough to be carried on the journey back, he insisted on walking into the village on his own two feet.

Thinking on it, what Jiraiya had done bordered on treason. Subversion at the minimum, taking the village's Jinchῡriki outside without permission. Yet his master had done so for him, because he could see just how much the attempt meant to the young man. His life, his career to assuage his pupil's yearnings. It would have been so much easier if he'd been a simple workaholic or pervert.

There was no denying his own culpability, no matter how much Jiraiya disguised it. He was prepared to be berated, beaten, punished for his foolhardy obsession. Not expecting sympathy or leniency, and least of all forgiveness for his rash actions.

Judging by the downright irate look on his brunette teammate's face, he didn't have to worry about the latter. Still, as par for the course with this story, he didn't expect what happened next.

*SLAP*

It was a far cry from the teeth-rattling strike he knew she could deliver, and yet it almost knocked him off his unsteady feet.

And yet it was more painful than anything done to him yet.

"You left us."

Her words were so inflamed they chilled him to the bone, her eyes so cold they burned.

"I'm sorry."

What else could he say? I was certainly of no help. Silence was easy, just pretending you weren't there the sweetest lie to believe. It hurt less. At least at first.

"We're your friends. Why didn't you come to us for help?"

"I-"

Naruto had two settings, full volume and silent. And boy, did Tenten know how to push his buttons. She shook her head dejectedly.

"You've always kept so much from us. You pretend that you're everything on the outside, loud, brave, carefree, and open like a book. But you continue to live alone in your mind, wrapping yourself in whatever fantasy's comfortable."

Naruto wanted to speak up- or maybe it was Ruby herself putting words into his mouth to deny that estimation.

"-We're real, too, Naruto!" Tears which he'd not noticed behind that frozen gaze leapt out at him. "We're real- she's real, and she's here now, too." A hand cast behind her as if to unveil the face he only knew from sidelong glances and dreams. Bara-Ruby- whatever she was, was scared. "What makes us less important? What do we need to do make you trust us?"

What did they need to do to make them real in his eyes? People he hadn't even met were his reality, because he didn't have to imagine their flaws. Only the perfect idea of them.

"Tenten-"

Sibling shared things, teammates shared things. Life taught us to not be miserly with out possessions and generous with our understanding. In that respect, had he ever truly been worthy of being called either?

"Ruby-"

Friends trusted one another. His vigilance was a betrayal of that, suspicion and doubt his motivations. Ruby- the original, acknowledged the other's legitimacy, so why couldn't he? Was he truly that afraid of finding what he had sought for so long?

"You guys-"

What had started as a handful of seeds had taken root, intertwined and grown without his cultivation. Even in the darkness they had blossomed, bloomed in the face of neglect. Such was the way of life- real life which existed regardless of his observation. Organisms and situations that were intertwined regardless of distance and without the use of words, seeking each other blindly.

-Blind leading the blind. There was no rational which justified why they should act like this. The condition of man was a perpetual and selfish desire for happiness, and they should not begrudge him from reaching for it when he had the chance. Likewise, there would be no surprise when they left him, walked away when he was unable to protect them like he promised. No, there was no logic to these words, unless to spite.

That was the way I used to think. It is a lonely way to live, if that can even be called life.

"I don't deserve you." He replied at last, as much to earth under him as the small crowd of jaded faces gathered round. "I don't deserve Ruby, either. I don't even deserve the Fox nor the Fourth trusting me with him."

Perhaps if I had been a true friend I would have banished this thought. If anything was unbalanced, it was the other way around. I would never say it, but those two are one of the most magnificent things to ever happen to me. And the thing is, I never needed to.

"You're probably right about that." Sasuke spoke for the first time since returning from his fratricidal chase. "But… we're what you got, and you're stuck with us."

Tearing himself away from the pounded dirt, he looked up to see those faces- tender smiles carved from alabaster shining down on him with all the radiance of the light of day.

"-So come on," An arm hooked underneath his shoulder, lifting him up. "Stop trying to lower yourself, it's our job to catch up."

"Just give us a breather every now and then, mm?" The wooden face of his former sensei cracked a smile- was this a dream?

"Yeah, any more surprises and you might just us heart-attacks." Brazen in the face of irony, the most laid-back of their rookie group lit a cigarette.

"Nah, I want to see what you come up with next." Sliding into his other arm, the torment of fire and ice on her face had homogenized into a soft glow. "And we all want to be there to see it, so don't try to leave us behind, next time, alright?"

"YOSH! If I cannot keep pace with your youthfulness, I will have to do all the missions in the roster- on my hands! In one day!"

"…We will stand with you through thick and thin, but I won't do that." Sidling into the growing mob, Neji regarded the green-spandex wearing teen with what I can only imagine as abject relief that he was not sidled with someone like that. "… with all due respect."

"Mm, it's only fair if we do it all. Can't have fun without a little bit of work, I suppose."

"You guys'd do that, for me?" The question earned him another smack on the head, though this one had even less force.

"After all this do you really need to ask? We're friends and we stick together. We've got your back because we know you've got ours." Perhaps Tenten did know of the clones he had loitering about.

"Meh, or the next person who gives us such entertainment."

" **THEY DID WHAAAAAAAAAT?!"**

The verbal earthquake knocked several tiles off the roofs and startled several birds which took flight to some other roost less chaotic.

"…Does this count as entertainment? Guys? Um, guys?"

They had meant what they said, but this was a challenge he had to face himself. Well, himself and the perverted Sanin who was hogtied and giftwrapped by his feet.

Who could ask for more?

* * *

Normalcy.

Things hadn't gotten quite that bad yet, but within days of the episode, Beacon had fallen into a tenuous peace. A working compromise which allowed the background students to mostly ignore the ever-growing sect of weirdness.

As always, things were constantly changing.

Ruby had already been discharged from the infirmary within days of her admittance. Apparently, even the childishly energetic nurse couldn't handle much of the girl's stir-crazy fidgeting and signed off on a clean bill of health despite the patchwork of bandages still covering her pale skin.

Unburdened by this, Ruby was humming a rhythm-less tune as she made her way through the lunchroom. Ignoring, and all too happy to be ignored by the inconsequential flock who made no show of avoiding her. Not that they dared stand in her path as she practically skipped down the aisles, unconsciously compressing themselves to the side in anticipation.

Despite this becoming almost instinct by now, a few seemingly hadn't received the memo.

"So, Jauney-boy, tell me: how's the Sloppy-Joe today? More Sloppy, or more Joe?"

The muted snickers were enough to override her internal melody, the human wall between her and the tables typically occupied by RWBY and JNPR sufficient to make her pause in her stride.

"Um, could you move please?"

The silence from the rest of the lunchroom should have been enough for CRDL to recognize the situation they were in. But it wasn't until they turned around, expressions of contrite not yet being stowed, did they realize perhaps they should have practiced more spatial awareness.

"Can't you see we're- Oh, shit- uh, I mean…"

There was nothing particularly menacing about the curious expression on Ruby's face, head cocked slightly to the side in a more or less genuine show of expectancy. Come to think of it, that in itself was most unnerving. A total disregard for whatever tension existed before her arrival, the power to overwrite a script merely by existing in it.

"S-sure."

Then again, they were just filler, anyway.

Lines and bodies shuffling aside to give her space, CRDL made themselves scarce, torn between being incensed and grateful at the wordless pardon they were given. Ruby totally ignoring them once they no longer stood between her spot, a medium between the two teams of first years.

It was simply where she always fit, a bridge between the two, between mundanity and excitement, fantasy and reality, truth and something more.

The obliviousness wasn't as feigned as perhaps it seemed to outside spectators, for it took Ruby a while to notice after she sat down that she was one of the few from either team to do so.

"Huh? Where is everybody?"

Against his will Jaune flinched at her question as he stared at his abused lunch which had been smeared all over the tray before Ruby's timely arrival.

"…Dunno." Finally relenting, seeing as he was the only one available. "I know Ren is helping Nora with some of her assignments which are due next period. Pyrrha is still stuck in the food line, maybe with the rest of your team?"

"Huh."

That would certainly explain why Cardin and his cronies hadn't immediately gotten their asses handed to them. But where would the rest of her team be?

Oh- wait, Yang had confessed that the three of them had actually been falling behind on a paper which was due soon because they had been caught up in their 'extra curriculars' and helping their invalid captain. She felt kind of guilty for being partly responsible. On the other hand, the elation from being exempt from said paper because of her injuries practically smothered that.

"I see." She nodded seriously to herself before digging into her teriyaki salmon and orange salad, unobservant of the melancholy microclimate hanging just next to her. "So how's it going with you, Jaune?"

Despite the occasional team exercises and classes they shared, JNPR's other activities hadn't been much discussed. In all fairness, she and her team had been quite occupied as of late, only now seeing the promise of relief in the distance.

Considering this, she couldn't really fathom the nonplussed look being given in response.

"What's the matter? Do I have something on my face?"

The blond-haired young man shook his head in exasperation, perhaps wondering not for the first time if Ruby was really that socially oblivious, or if she acted that way to make light of a difficult discussion.

What would he say if he knew she often wondered the same thing?

"-Nothin'." Turning back to his mush and halfheartedly trying to spoon the scattered meat into a semblance of the sandwich it once represented.

"Do you want me to leave?"

He dropped the utensil, whipping his head to her in aghast.

"No! -I mean, there's no reason for you to. You might as well, there aren't that many other open spaces."

Now she looked at him like he was mad, for the cafeteria was at most half-populated and there was little doubt that Ruby could probably clear the remaining half just by asking politely.

"Oooookay."

Jaune turned his head away in embarrassment with a pink dusting contrasting the straw-blond, chagrinned twofold at being looked at askance by the 'crazy girl'. Not that he invested in that rumor.

"So what's really the matter?" A rare moment of seriousness which was not at the end of her imposing weapon. "You're still uncomfortable with me being around."

"No," He automatically denied. "Well, kind of, but that's not really the issue." Sighing under her expectant and unnervingly intense stare, he resigned himself that he wasn't leaving the table without a full confession. "It's just… you're so strong, and I'm…"

"Not."

"Yeah…"

While he deflated under the blunt weight, Ruby again shrugged off the oppressive attitude.

"Well, you don't really have anyone there to blame but yourself." Sneaking a bite of her fish in between a twisted set of lips.

"I know…"

Really, this was by far the most expected thing which had happened in days. Did he truly expect a useful answer?

"Why don't you try training more? I'm sure Pyrrha would be happy to help." And she wasn't just saying that because she noticed the intense stares the redhead gave her blond captain. Pyrrha was really just that nice of a person.

"You're just as strong as she is, though." The spoon in his hand strained under his meager grip. "And Cardin is scared of you, but you don't even care!"

"Exactly." Her tone absolute, he once again stared at her as she finished half her lunch, trying to somehow fathom what was going on behind the scenes in her head. "I don't care, so why should you?"

No matter how long he stared at her as she unabashedly polished off her meal, he would not be able to unravel the mystery just by watching.

"… Can you teach me to be strong?"

"Nope."

The reply came so quick and so bluntly it was like a slap, and Jaune all but collapsed in a heap on the table.

"I'm still learning myself. You're welcome to learn with me, though."

With the same unperturbed smile on her face, Ruby extended a metaphorical hand to the flailing blond who still reminded her of Naruto.

"… I really don't understand you, you know that?" He sighed, but this time with his own belabored smile on his face. "Then again, I really don't understand women in general, despite living with eight of them for my entire life."

A lightbulb seemed to flick on in his face, revisiting the petit girl as something else than a mystical creature. Maybe seeing her as a human female for the first time.

"Say… Ruby, do you think you could teach me about girls too?"

In theory, it made sense. She had presented herself to be many things, but a girlish figure was not one of them. In a twisted sense, that made her more approachable. Plus, her admitted uncaring made the question safe enough, right?

"Bwahahahahahahaha!"

Uproarious laughter filled the cafeteria, several heads turning their way until they saw who the culprit was and quickly averted their gazes. This did nothing to help Jaune who was mortified by all the attention being diverted their way. Eventually his pitiable groan penetrated through the diminishing giggles and Ruby wiped a tear away from her eye.

"Sorry… inside joke." It would have been even funnier if he could only know how literal that was. "But, I'm willing to do what I can."

Giving credit where it is due, Jaune recovered from his defeat rather quickly, picking up his pieces and looking up (down) to the strange female-ish warrior next to him who was giving a rather hokey but emphatic thumbs-up, beaming like an idiot.

Really, she was not much different than he. Their awkwardness was comparable, if anything he was the one more adjusted to the standard. But that didn't matter to Ruby, and that's what made her such an enigma. A mystery for some people to uncover, and an icon for others to aspire to.

"…Thanks, Ruby."

"No problem. Now, come on!" Stealing the spoon from him, she forked up a heaping serving of the mystery meat and shoved it into his mouth, massaging his cheeks to masticate the already ground meal. "Hurry up and eat, you're going to need the strength to get through all the exercise!"

"Mph! Waifth! Ngwh?!" (I believe he was asking if they were going to immediately rush into the promised training).

"Of course! There's no time to waste! We only have like half an hour left of lunch before Port's class. You can rest in there before we go again."

Being spoon-fed like a baby was the least of Jaune's concerns as he listened to what was in store for him. There was clearly a moment where he contemplated just what his unplanned requests had precipitated.

But then he let go of that fear, let the apathy wash over him like the ocean and sink into that sea of tranquility. An infant in the arms of the world. Thus, he learned his first lesson.

Really, in the vastness of things, in the galaxy of stars overhead spawning infinite possibilities crossed by the endlessness of time, was there any world which was perfect? Did any combination of sunlight and chemicals result in something better than this, or was the initial state of their lives as good as things were ever going to get?

And really, who could ask for more? From where they stood in that moment, what was not possible?

* * *

 **And in case you haven't noticed, these chapter titles actually do mean something. This one is in reference to Leibniz.**


	28. Tabula Rasa

**Ohisashiburi, da na? Yeah, it's been two weeks- feels like two months, believe me. It wasn't my intention to hold this back from you guys for so long, but after slogging through final exams and during a long drive from here to LA in which I had plenty of time to think, I grew dissatisfied with this chapter and decided to redo a goodly portion of it. On the plus side, it is about a thousand words longer than it was before, and I am much more satisfied with the outcome.**

 **You can think of these two weeks as training for the future. For all those who care, I will be gone for six weeks starting in four days and chances are that I won't be able to publish anything during that time as I will be literally disconnected from the modern world for all intents and purposes. So PM's and reviews, while appreciated, won't be responded to until after that. (Just so you don't think I'm ignoring you. All messages until then I will be perfectly happy to answer as best I can).**

 **For what it's worth, this break along with the previous should give me plenty of time and inspiration to keep this baby going! I will also do my best to get what I've currently got sequestered in my head onto paper (electronic) ASAP, maybe even before I go.**

 **As always, I thank each and every one of you for your support. Though I may not respond to all of your well-wishes and disturbingly scant criticism, know that I read and consider each and every one of them. You are not neglected, and I just hope what I can produce is ample recompense for your efforts.**

 **~Hasta mañana, mis compañeros.**

* * *

Life just seems to have a way of becoming mundane. No matter how exciting things become, it adapts to a new status quo. Debilitations shrugged, and hiccups worked around for the sake of routine.

It is only natural life seeks this… for what it seeks is _to be_ natural. To arrive at a state of harmony with the environment both inside and out.

Not that _other_ 'n' word, which is but a paltry refuge for the those uncomfortable within their own skin.

Comfort can be a necessary sacrifice at times for staying alive. Accepting an uncomfortable situation because it is the best course of action in the long run. This was the kind of thing Weiss was used to, having to stomach an uneasy détente within her own family. Having to pretend everything was alright made it easier for her to accept when it wasn't quite so.

Humans are adaptable, they can get used to a lot. Like in a war, pushing oneself to the extremes. Stay awake, stay alert, stay alive. Keeping on your toes, never quite relaxing for fear that something sinister is coming.

Such as what Ruby and Naruto neglected to do.

A snake after gorging itself lies down somewhere safe, and it was this way for the two of them who were at last given their fill of R&R. Sadly, Beacon was, by definition, not such a protected local. Being a school for combat meant that its walls weren't just for show, keeping things out as well as in.

It was all too easy for them to believe it was impenetrable, a garden of Eden sequestered away from the rest of the tumultuous world, with the idyllic setting and amicable company. But Beacon's walls were built by man, not God, and so were prone to folly just as they were.

One could not say that they were slacking off, however. Those two- nay three intertwined souls were hard at work in their respective fields. And with their noses to the grindstone, it was this that kept them from being more aware of their surroundings.

Having reached a plateau with his weapon form, Naruto returned to the sealing arts with a rediscovered gusto- probably because he had the time and tranquility within his home to do so. Which as it turned out was fine with his teammates, as Neji began taking on more of his Jōnin responsibilities, and Tenten found that she was just as happy to learn piecemeal alongside her fellow pupil in the written art. There was only so much she could help with the foreign weapon, after all.

The large pointy-stick was never the be-all end-all of his repertoire as it might have been for Ruby. Compared to the living weapons which were shinobi, such a thing might be regarded as a crutch in the hands of huntsman and huntresses of her world. By this same logic, relying on friends and teammates might as well be a handicap too.

But either form of human fell short of animals, who had both built-in claws and packs.

Since she couldn't improve on her own weapon skills, Ruby worked on the latter and found a companionable soul in Jaune. They both came from different worlds. He, having a standard abnormality within his family which left him with seven sisters. The borderline misandry within this clan had shaped him into someone who didn't quite know his place. Surprisingly, leading to a result which was not so different from Ruby herself, and so their social disabilities proved a match.

Jaune found it easy to approach Ruby once he'd gotten past the initial and very rational apprehension. Not quite one of the girls he had learned to fear and respect, and not quite one of 'the Guys' who'd hear nothing of his personal problems.

(Of course, it is doubtful that his other teammate was such a chauvinist, but Ren's stoicism made him as difficult to approach as the Uchiha or Hyῡga.)

Irrespective, the impressionable young lad was all too happy to talk with Ruby. And she, all too proud to share. Cherry picking the best yarns from their combined experience to regale her new friend. The male Arc came to treat these stories as gospel, and Naruto as his personal idol.

This came to the concern of his teammates- and his partner in particular, who feared for their captain's grip on reality. He assured them that he was taking these tales with a grain of salt, merely using them for inspiration like any other. To alleviate their fears, he demonstrated his new resolve in a team on team match in which they'd faired remarkably well.

If he was still weak compared to the rest of his companions, oddly enough this did not bother him as much as it used to. That was because the most important thing he was gaining was a confidence in himself. After all, if such a socially inept person as Ruby could get to where she now resided, who was to say that he could not do the same?

The greater alarm held by the rest of JNPR was not so much due to his marked improvement. In fact, after displaying these newfound capabilities in the team spar, both Nora and Ren found little issue with their captain taking supplemental training from his fellow leader. So long as he kept up with their own group exercises, which he did begrudgingly with whatever energy remained.

No, it wasn't even so much the other two which had a problem with this arrangement, but the resident champion who could not stand to see his progress. Or rather, could not bear to see it be at the hand of someone she considered a rival.

Pyrrha must have imagined Ruby as her rival in more than once sense. Sadly, her love triangle would have needed a few extra geometries in order to reflect reality. And it is doubtful if Ruby was even aware of these complicated feelings surrounding her.

"Surround her!"

Not like she was aware of the three members of JNPR flanking her sides and blocking her advance.

One she could do something about, the other was out of her control. We leave it up to the reader to figure out which is which.

"Nora Smash!"

A painfully telegraphed attack broadcasted almost in slow-motion to the speedy girl. She smirked in confidence and was already leaving the earth when the ginger girl's partner reached her.

His twin blades lashed out the moment her feet touched off. But to his surprise, she appeared not to need the benefit of solid ground to change her momentum back to him. A shriek resounded in the training grounds as metal met metal, drowned out only by a cacophony of small-arms fire as Ren unloaded his machine-pistols at point blank.

The flat of Ruby's blade was already in between the two of them to intercept the sweep of blind shots. The single crack of her rifle was a sledgehammer compared to his tapdance, the physical shockwave pounding in his chest as it lifted the petit girl into the air and past the descending Valkyrie who had her own mallet poised for a strike that she could not curtail.

This mattered little to her partner who had learned how to work around his childhood friend's deficiencies. A seemingly choreographed move wherein he leaped off the ground and sprung off his friend's puffed chest caught him up to Ruby's new position in air. Unsurprisingly, the scythe-wielder twisted her body to bring her weapon to bear against his ascent, clashing once more in a show of sparks and gunpowder which fell like rain.

Further bending the laws of physics into an origami swan, Ruby twisted once again to bring her blade around for another teeth-rattling strike which never came, even as Ren tensed in jaw-clenching anticipation. She just winked at him and then winked out of existence.

Not enough of a surprise to totally prevent the young man's ingrained sense of danger however. He used the little time not consumed by shock to pad his hasty guard, curling in on himself as he prepared to be hurled into the ground like a hockey puck.

Everyone already knew that Ruby was fast. But being fast and being quick-thinking are two different things. Thus the bigger surprise wasn't that she was able to dodge the crack shot from afar, but that she noticed the supersonic bullet headed her way to begin with. The sniper on the ground biting her lip to prevent a curse from slipping out just as the other girl slipped from their grasp.

Never so slow herself, the ex-champion immediately fell back on the secondary plan Jaune had drilled into their heads. Contingencies upon contingencies, one might have said too many if they did not know their opponent's uncanny ability to negate so many of them.

All she needed was for one to work.

Something the rest of team RWBY wasn't about to allow as they blitzed Pyrrha through the opening their leader created. With the three of them avoiding Ren's ballistic reentry, the redhead was further forced to avoid a glyph which spawned ice crystals at her feet. After that, a series of corralling shots augmented by a pincer-like ribbon once Blake was in range.

Jaune had figured on at least two of their team being devoted to taking on Pyrrha, who was by no small margin the most dangerous opponent on their side. Narrowing it down further, he realized that Yang would be the worst possible matchup fighting against her magnetic release, leaving Blake and Weiss as the obvious bulwark to halt Pyrrha's advance. He'd even fathomed team RWBY might have commissioned their resident weapons expert to equip her comrades with some form of non-metallic armaments- such as the evidently carbon-fiber sheath to _Gambol Shroud_.

All this had been weighed and predicted beforehand and gave the deceptively astute boy much needed information. It told him they were expecting Pyrrha to be forced to rely on her seldom-used Semblance. It told him they were confident in their abilities to not only delay Pyrrha, but to delay her sufficient that they could finish the rest of them off. It told him they had a plan of their own, beyond using Ruby to mow down everything in her path.

This was knowledge. But gut feeling, staring at the confident smiles mirrored on two teammates who historically never saw eye to eye, **that** told him something else.

It whispered words of victory.

And somewhere in between the two was intuition, which made him rush forward into the fray to help Pyrrha before she found herself blindsided by his fellow captain's admirable trickery.

"Where _Arc_ you running to, Jauney-boy?"

Groaning, the young man wasn't sure which was to be more painful: enduring his fellow blonde's puns or her expected beatdown. Propping up his shield in a sturdy defense braced with his sword, _Crocea Mors,_ Jaune knew he only had a chance to change one of those things.

A slim, infinitesimal chance.

"That was bad, Yang. Even by your standards." What he was about to say next was a double-edged sword. An expression which made no sense to him considering his own blade was probably a lesser danger in his hands. "Are you feeling okay? Did they maybe think fighting me was all you could handle?"

A vicious smirk which was usually a precursor to pain flashed across the blonde boxer's face.

"Awe, don't beat up on yourself like that, Jaune." He gulped as Yang smashed her fists together. "That's **my** job."

His taunt bouncing off her like the harrying gunfire off Pyrrha's shield, Jaune felt some of the confidence he'd won leave him. This being just the first bout of verbal jousts however, he had yet to end up on his backside.

The day was still young.

"Well," He initiated, sliding his stance a hair wider. "are we just going to talk, or are we going to fight?"

"That's up to you, champ." Inspecting her nails underneath the shroud of her shotgun-gauntlets _Ember Celica_ , Yang replied with a mocking casualness.

"What?" Blue eyes darting back and forth between Nor and Ren who were playing at cartoon cats and mouse with Ruby who was outwitting the both, and their ace who was worryingly entrenched in her engagement. "Aren't you going to help your teammates?"

"Aren't you?"

To be perfectly honest, no matter how much he had improved, Jaune's presence could hardly change matters in any meaningful way. If being on the peripheries also removed one of the heavy-hitters from the other team, then that would be more than a fair trade. He'd just have to trust his teammates to adhere to the plan.

He glanced back to Yang who shot a leer from her personal doting along with a shark-like grin. Sighing, he relaxed into a stance with stiff-legs poised underneath his shoulders which he could maintain even with his heavy shield for several hours- not that it would take that long. It was his attention and focus that'd be the first thing to give.

Him or Yang though, whose patience would give out first?

The sound of Nora slamming into the ground as hard as a strike from her own hammer _Magnhild_ made him wince, a move which turned into a flinch as Yang's hands twitched in his direction. Cheeks redden in chagrin and frustration as she chuckled at his skittishness.

What would Naruto do?

Grin like a Cheshire cat, contorting body out of the way of volleys of small caliber and grenades, scythe dancing like a tongue in a limerick. Having fun, but having also enough time to think on what her fellow team captain was thinking. Wondering if he'd break through that invisible boundary which existed in between the worlds of belief.

Ruby was not opposed to being bait. She'd taken the roll willingly because they're wasn't any doubt that she was capable of standing toe-to-toe with Pyrrha- not any more. Giving Weiss and Blake a chance to do something which to bond over.

Not to say that was her conscious intention. One might say bringing people together just came naturally.

In this ill-afforded moment of reflection, she'd let Ren lead her into position. A cartoonish X marking the spot wouldn't have made her situation any more obvious than the impending shadow eclipsing her like the moon.

In the ongoing spirit of those early-morning cartoons she doubtlessly enjoyed, and in accordance with everything else in the girl's life done to excess, Nora had detonated a half-dozen of her dust-imbued grenades to give her hammer an added boost to its already obscene crushing potential. A veritable rocket that would have had dozens of copyright infringements from Acme had such an organization actually existed, speeding down towards the red-cloaked girl who could only blink in surprise.

Then again, maybe Nora should have watched **more** cartoons, else she would have known that the bigger the explosion, the more it backfires.

This one could be observed all the way from Vale as a mushroom cloud rising above the tree-line somewhere in the vicinity of Beacon academy, and which reflected in the two semi-circle panes of glass worn by one Glynda Goodwitch who was out on the town for a rare day-off. A holiday that would promptly be cut short as she forced a return to the academy upon a Bullhead transport making an _unscheduled_ departure.

There was no such thing as a day off. Ever.

"Did I get her?" The hyper girl wondered as she bent over at the fractured crater in the ground, looking for any sign of crimson cloth.

"Um… no?"

Interrupting the normally scheduled programming was something most certainly **not** suited to children's television. Though considering it also happened to her a scant three years ago, this line is debatable.

What is not up for debate was the amount of excruciating pain and indignity the smallest member of JNPR was in. A word normally unknown to the exuberant Valkyrie, being all but goosed in front of her childhood friend- not to mention a goodly number of classmates tended to count towards extenuating circumstances.

Tranquility dropkicked out of the way by all gangs of genuine shock, Ren's only warning before his partner was flung into him by the preternatural force was the technique's name announced by Ruby:

"One-Thousand Years of Death!"

The entire battlefield stopped as the three combatants collapsed to the ground rather noisily. Ruby, rolling on her back and howling with laughter, Ren and Nora groaning in various degrees of pain with both their Auras depleted. A stone's throw away, the blonde sister was faring little better with her own hands caught between holding her sides and covering her mouth to stem both the flow of giggles and to hide her grin from the other two teammates who looked positively mortified with their captain.

"Of all the-!"

Clenching _Myrtenaster_ that the spiral-fluted titanium-alloy handle might crack or deform, Weiss couldn't even bare to look at her partner lest her blood pressure trip past that point of no return and the throbbing vein in her forehead possibly burst.

"Actually, she's got the right idea."

Past the bounds of static fury, Weiss lashed back around on whoever had the gall to find merit in such undignified tactics. Blinded by her own rage, hubris, and simple lack of situational awareness, she was unable to complete that pirouette without tripping on her own feet.

Or- was it her fault, or that of the sword wedged between her legs which locked her knees and sent her toppling with wide-eyed nonplus? If only she could have said that she was unconscious before her head hit the ground, it would have enabled her to lie without knowing that the last thing she saw was the embossed heraldry of twin crescent moons, the undeniable mark of the Arc clan, falling upon her.

Stay awake, stay alert, stay alive. Apparently, Weiss too needed a refresher course.

Plans never survived first contact. Like animals, they had to evolve to survive. Backed against the wall, animals do whatever it takes to stay alive. When the pack is at stake, there is no such thing as underhanded tactics, dirty tricks or even honor among enemies. It may have just been a spar, but Jaune was quickly becoming immured to these truths.

"Huh? When did he…?"

Yang balked, pulling a doubletake between the blond-haired, blue eyed man in front of her and the…

…cardboard cutout behind. It's tromp-l'oeil trappings and armor ruined by the jovial expression of infant scribbles and _four_ fingered hand waving at her.

Jaune- the real Arc stood with an uncharacteristic seriousness etched onto his face, overlying a childlike giddiness that the ploy had in fact worked- even if he'd had a suspicion it would all along.

Storytime had not been one-sided. Finally finding someone who seemed to understand the ostracism, Jaune was overflowing with meaningless trivia about himself which he heaped upon a patient Ruby. Some things she found were similar, strangely enough. Others, like the peculiarly mundane life he'd lead before, joining a sports team and taking painting lessons were different but debilitatingly dull.

He was okay with this. Jaune was okay with being dull, with being unnoticeable. Whereas Ruby had accepted her unique conspicuousness, he had accepted his ambiguity. Embraced it. Enhanced it.

Knowing he was forever going to play a support character to those more powerful, he was perfectly content fading into the background. One did certain things, moved conservatively and slow, not looking with the head but with the eyes and treading on the balls of one's feet. Like a hunter- or prey that didn't want to be snatched up.

Once could become all but invisible.

The distraction caused by Nora's overzealousness didn't hurt, either. And the cardboard cutout?

If it was stupid and it worked, it wasn't stupid. This was something else he was rapidly learning.

"So I take it that you're finally over your crush on Ice-Queen." Blake asked with a minute tinge of vindictiveness for her fallen comrade.

"Yo-you might say that…" Jaune all but whispered, casting a sidelong glance at the KO'd girl who even in unconsciousness bore a scowl as if cursing him from the other side.

This lapse of that instinctual mindset caused him to miss several things. The first being the hint of joy on his partner's face as she was given this revelation. The second being Blake's tail-like ribbon whipping up _Myrtenaster_ from under his feet and leveling the revolving chamber in his direction. The third being the telltale whisper of Ruby's scythe reeving through the air between them.

His rear- evidently fed-up with being continually kicked up and down the training ground by this little girl, took its own action as everything from the waist down failed him and his body hit the dirt of its own volition. Back smacking flat just as the half-moon arc of _Crescent Rose_ whooshed over him. With surprising dexterity and presence of mind he snatched up from the ground along with _Crocea Mors_ , Jaune rolled backwards on his shoulder to avoid the follow-on strike canted protectively over the downed Weiss.

Lanky legs springing up underneath him, he had barely enough time to throw his shield in front of himself before it was encased in an iceberg which would have dragged his arm down to the bottom of the sea had he not unlatched his arm from the brace in the nick of time.

None too soon for Ruby to appear on the tip of that ice block and leap off towards him. Unsure whether to be terrified or flattered the remainder of team RWBY seemed to be gunning for him, ever pragmatic, he settled for both while keeping an eye out for Yang, seeing that Pyrrha was already on-course to intercept his fellow captain.

The feeling of something solid, something nigh-impenetrable behind him was what gave Jaune the surety to turn his back on Ruby in favor of the raging bull which was Yang bearing down on him- now the two of them. Pyrrha's taut back muscles holding him up where his own legs stumbled.

"Just the two of us against the world, huh?" He joked offhandedly, not expecting an answer from his partner who was holding back more than her fair share. Taken aback when a shiver ran up their conjoined spines.

"Awe! I'm so happy you think the world of me, Jaune!"

That shiver perhaps a premonition which jerked his vision skyward towards the immediate threat of Ruby descending on them rather than her sister who was a whole second-and-a-half away.

"Pyrrha!"

Cowering came easy to him. But just as running away was a strategic retreat, this was a tactical crouch to allow his partner space to lean back, taking aim with her converted rifle to the sky.

Pow! The shot rang true and slid right through Ruby. The lack of impact was immediately noticed and without waiting for an answer, Jaune rolled his partner off his back so that he could bring up his blade against the one hedging its way furiously at the two of them from the side.

Arms wavered and stance slipped back slightly. But Jaune still held true against the train-car impact from Ruby's scythe as behind him his partner intercepted the body-tackle from Yang with all the give of a concrete barrier, bouncing off her to lash out at Blake who thought she could sneak in a hit-and-run.

Maybe he was finally getting used to Ruby's mode of attack.

"I think you're finally getting the hang of this!" She bubbled unnervingly.

"Thanks…"

"Maybe in another lifetime you'll finally catch up!"

Given unlimited time he might have come up with a witty retort. No amount of preparation would have made him able to mitigate what happened after that declaration, though. In the same instant his hands let go of his sword- simply unable to hold on to the blade which danced in his hand like a caged pixy- Ruby swept both it and him into her whirlpool arc, spitting the two of them out at unfathomable velocities straight at his teammate who took the full brunt of his gangly weight slamming into her.

Against her wishes and better judgment, Pyrrha was forced to drop the groaning form of her leader after standing up with him in her arms once she realized that she was the only one left standing on her team, and was presently surrounded by ¾'s of their opponents.

"It's over."

The amicably grinning captain declared to an uncharacteristically disturbed redhead. Taking this distraction at face value, Ruby surveyed her surroundings, settling on the stoic specter of Glynda Goodwitch somehow hovering over all their shoulders despite the triangle formation they were presently in.

"Indeed, it is, Ms. Rose." The perpetually stoic woman pronounced darkly.

"Someone wishes to speak to you."

* * *

"Ummmm…."

Evidently, what Glynda meant was not literal. For despite the staring contest going on for the past few minutes between the iron bars of a high-security prison's visiting center, neither had yet to say a single word to one another.

The orange-jumpsuit wearing girl rolled her eyes at this dumbfounded expression and unfolded her arms- the most emotion she'd shown thus far in this strange visit. She then mimed writing something down on her pale palm which Ruby caught onto only a moment later. Rummaging through her school bag which she'd brought with her directly from Beacon, she tore out a perforated page from her notebook and slipped both that and a gnawed-on pencil through the bars before any of the guards had a chance to stop her.

Writing materials in hand, the mute girl sent a glare to the two meathead enforcers behind her who made to confiscate the sharp object. Their actions were stymied with but a wave from the blonde woman lurking in the corner. The prisoner then turned to the scant page and began writing with her head down, words shielded behind pink and brown locks.

Ruby waited awkwardly for the other girl to finish, flicking her gaze over to the glowering redheaded man in the next stall over, who was insistent on being present for this but unwilling to say anything more than his accomplice.

A crinkling drew her attention back to the front as the taco-folded page was thrust through the bars. Ruby grabbed it gingerly as security on both sides of the barrier tensed yet again. Turning it in her hands until it made sense, she scanned the once blank sheet now filled with neat cursive and perfect but cramped flowcharts.

"This is…" The other girl's head nodded seriously just above the page. "But… why?"

Letting the incriminating document drop so that she could have an unobscured view of the stoic girl on the other side, she regarded the quasi-iridescence shimmering in eyes which shifted from brown, to white, to pink and back again.

"Yeah, Neo. _**Why**_?"

"Hey! Pipe down!"

Roman scoffed at the guard who took a menacing step towards him, one hand on the shock-baton at his side. Torchwick never took his eyes off his partner, whom he appraised without concealing his contempt and betrayal.

Neo stared back equally unwavering and unblinking. At last winning the silent confrontation as the elder man turned away with a huff. She then turned back to Ruby and gave her a nod which had significance perhaps only to her, but which confirmed her decision irrefutably.

"Thank you."

It was Neo's turn to scoff, cutting off the view of her strangely attractive eyes and spinning in the stool which was riveted to the ground. With the 'conversation' being over, Ruby turned to the other criminal and offered the man a polite nod which was spurned just like before. She began to get up herself, clutching the incredibly important hand-written document to her breast as she pushed back in her seat.

Mid-way through standing, her arm shot out displaying 'V' for victory back at the menacing bars. A needle-sharp pencil rested in the crook of her two fingers. Beady point staring at her, superimposed in front of the smirking Neo. The hand with which the older girl cast the writing tool like a dart waved a fleer at Ruby through the bars before the girl pivoted on her heel and strutted back into the halls ahead of her minders who were waddling to catch up.

Ruby stared at her returned pencil as a breathless Glynda sidled up behind her, split between trying to see if her student was alright and trying to catch a glimpse of what was written on the page.

"What on Remnant was that all about?"

Nibbling on the yellow tool, Ruby stared at the tidy scrawl with a restrained wonderment.

"I think… she said she believes in me."

* * *

"Do you think we can trust her?"

'Do you think I can trust _you_ '- is what Ruby wanted to ask. Considering the man in front of her had been playing chess with her life since before she was aware of his existence. The same man who placed immeasurable faith in her without giving a single good reason, and who all but used her as bait to lure an ancient witch out of hiding.

Or maybe those were just the feelings of her mental tagalongs bleeding in, because at this time Ruby still had no doubts about her abilities to vanquish every task the headmaster laid before her or her team. This Ruby was characterized by an unwavering confidence that sometimes bordered on foolhardiness.

"I do."

An assurance which all too readily spread to everyone she held within her circle of 'friends'.

Ozpin must have realized this bias as well. He regarded both the girl and the paper with a stone-faced appraisal.

Yet that same masked interest he had in her life caused him to ignore common sense and nod smartly, believing in her as well. Maybe they were simply more alike than what might be surmised. Maybe Ozpin was not so different from the others in her life, after all.

Does anyone recognize themselves from the outside looking in?

"Very well. I will pass this on to my other agents. If even half of what she implies here is true, then the situation is every bit as dire as I feared, and we will need to act swiftly and deliberately to counteract the plans She already has in place."

The nod Ruby gave was accompanied by a beaming grin, inferring from the headmaster's words that she and her team were going to be used again. Things had been getting rather mundane as of late, mired in the doldrums of school. So this would be a nice break.

Regardless, a healthy caution was still a good idea. An idea which found more observers in those silent 'others', their vow to guard over that innocent never wavering. There was only so much that could be done from their side, however.

"So, just tell me when and where, boss man."

The statement was a strange aftertaste which caused a pursed reflection in the man.

"No… I do not think it would be appropriate to ask you girls to take part in this."

"What?"

Ruby really couldn't understand the words which had come out of his mouth and repeated them several times within her own head, denial echoing in that empty cavern where once her self-doubt resided.

"Dealing with Roman and his cronies- no matter how capable some of them seemed to be- was one thing. The White Fang and unknown agents which have ties to Salem are another thing entirely." There was an unaccustomed sternness in the headmaster's voice which she rebelled against.

"You can't do this to us."

The daze on his face was impossible to hide, and it was unfortunately construed as a form of contempt by the girl who was so used to people looking down on her.

"Excuse me?" He stood slowly, staring at her with furrowed brow which made her feel like a child, an insect, an inferior. The very sort of thing she loathed. "This is my school. I can, and I will."

It was not a harsh ultimatum, but it was firm. It was an obstacle, made to be overcome.

"No, you can't." Her voice was steady, but eyes dilated and palms sweaty. "That note was for me, because Neo trusted me to do something about it. We can take this on with or without your approval, and you won't stop us because that's what you want too."

"Oh?" His own dry palms folded behind his back, that implacable face drawn and tight in a mask for his disappointment. "And what would you know of what I want, Ms. Rose?"

Her heart skipped a beat. Felt by all souls tied in as she realized the truth.

"For as long as I have been alive, I have been fighting a battle against the evil which that woman embodies. To that end, I have undertaken vast projects such as this school, sacrificed the lives of countless others who entrusted their wellbeing to me." Emotion flowed through the throbbing veins against his taught skin, swallowed before they could reach his face. "Compared to either of those… you do not matter as much as you might think."

No lies were detected. This was the official edict, spelling out in no uncertain terms just where she fit in his hierarchy. The lack of anger made it no less palatable- if anything, made it worse.

"Skilled though you may be, there is nothing that makes your life that much more important than anyone else in this school, and I have to do my best to protect everyone. Even if that sometimes means having to make unfavorable decisions."

Ruby's thoughts were manifested internally by the physical reactions she experienced. A tightening of the chest, breath which came short and hot, rasping. And knuckles which popped under immeasurable pressure. No, it was not a pleasant feeling, though maybe lying would have been worse in the end.

"And of the other lives… what makes you think your teammates would even agree with you on this, hmm?"

It was unbearable because it was the truth. Her dreams were the only thing she could count on.

"I had… hoped to spare you from this, for at least a few more years." The bloodshed or the devaluation of her ego? Both were looming in the lintel as was the man as he lay a hand on the detached girl's shoulder. "Don't be too eager to throw your childhood away, Ruby."

Oh, it was far too late for that. As much as her protectors wanted to snap at that calloused hand (maybe she wanted to do much the same), Ozpin would get his comeuppance soon enough, if he believed that it was still possible to protect something made to be thrown away.

"So then… what purpose do I serve?" No one could take away her value so easily, she existed not only for herself, but for the two watchers desperately reaching across the divide to embrace her with ghostly arms. "I can fight, alone if I have to. I will also protect this school and everyone in it, no matter what."

The hand fell from her shoulder as all tension and color drained from Ozpin's body.

"Oh Ruby, did I… was I the one who turned you into this?"

More frightening than his solemnity was this despondency, the question barely whispered to himself in self-doubt that was not appropriate for a man so above everything else.

As much as the man rubs me the wrong way, I cannot put this sort of blame squarely on his shoulders. The world- the two that we know of, are cruel and unsympathetic places. It was this knowledge which turned her into the person that stood before him- for better or worse.

"Eh? What do you mean?" She cocked her head innocently, for that was also who she was. "I'm me. I've always been me."

With a shake of the head which turned into a whole-body shiver the headmaster regathered himself. Picked up the pieces and held them steadfast with a straight spine.

"Yes, of course." He adjusted his glasses tactically, hiding whatever insight made its way there. "Of course. I have no doubt that you can handle it. However, I would hope that you trust me enough to do things my way. I am merely concerned about how the rest of your team would take to this."

"They could handle it."

"Perhaps." He was back to his old ways, regarding the unwavering faith with an aloof diversion which hid his scheming. "Skill-wise, the four of you- or should I say the eight of you have improved greatly over the past weeks." He cocked his head to the side much as she had done. "But how much do you really know about them? Do you think that their allegiances have always been to Beacon?"

Belaboring the fact that she knew them about as well as they knew her- to say not very well at all.

"Please, just get to the point." Her voice was subdued, still vacillating between disappointment and frustration.

"One of your teammates is not who she appears to be."

"Blake is a Faunus."

The cat was already out of the bag, but Ozpin still held another secret above her head which kept him in control.

"Yes, but she was also part of the White Fang before I allowed her entrance to my school."

"So?"

He was clearly stifling a look of incredulity like before at what appeared to be a childish retort. There was something clearly pressing him to look further, though, past this naïve demeanor. And for a brief moment he might have seen the other two staring back out at him.

So many of Naruto's current friends had started off ignominiously, either displeased with him, hating him or outright trying to murder him. And now there was no doubt he could stake his life on them.

They had even converted an infamous demon into a guardian angel, devastating anger fading away rapidly into legend. Why could she not count on Blake?

"There is the possibility that she still harbors feelings for her former comrades. What they were fighting for was a laudable goal, and their methods have not changed that fact."

"She can handle it."

Feelings were fickle things. As believable as Blake's remaining sympathy might have been, so too could deep-seated animosity. The two feelings were closer than one would like to believe. Closer than humans and Faunus who shared these emotional pallets.

Ozpin sighed wearily as he collapsed back into his armchair. The double-edged gift that Ruby had dumped into his lap was welcome, but not without its own demands. The energy for which he was now spending arguing with a teenage girl. He shut her out the only way possible, shielding his creased face with rough palms. Emerging after a while, not-quite reborn.

"Fine. I'll give you a trial run while I gather my agents. According to this, the White Fang are holding a rally in two-day's time. Roman was supposed to unveil some new Atlas weaponry there, and since he obviously won't be attending, this will be a good opportunity to see if Neo was telling the truth. I'd rather confirm this first before I go alarming General Ironwood with hearsay. Thus, your mission is one of _**pure**_ reconnaissance. Understand? Use any means necessary to avoid conflict."

"Yes sir!" She saluted with a smart salute and grin, as if the past conversation had never taken place.

"This will also be a good test for Blake. I want you to observe how she reacts and see if she is willing to divulge the organization's methodology."

This was agreed to less enthusiastically, wording the acceptance to allow herself a loophole so as not to betray her own sense of fealty. Ozpin might have seen this and declined to say anything. Perhaps simply too worn out to put up more of a fight. There were countless things that he would have to take care of in preparation.

As would Ruby. But she too was tired. Worn down by unpleasant revelations, and still dragging around the few unanswered questions they raised.

Sleep, does not always bring peace of mind.

* * *

Naruto stared across the table at 'Bara-chan' unblinkingly, a strand of noodles dandling in his chopsticks until it became too soggy to bear up under its own weight and flopped back into his bowl. The subtle splash sending drops of broth into his face and drawing the attention of the other two who stopped talking as he rubbed salt out of his eyes.

"What's up, Naruto-kun?"

Grateful he wasn't caught staring, he shook his head.

"Nuthin." He said, fishing around in his bowl and stuffing his face with a large wad of food to save him from having to say anything else.

That poor excuse wouldn't have been enough to convince anyone, least of all his teammate. Ramen was his worst tell, and if he wasn't wolfing it down, it was a sure sign that there was something amiss.

As had been the case for the past few weeks though, Tenten decided not to say anything about his absent staring. Interactions had become consistent with them during that period, at least. A lull in village activity in which even the Hōkage felt free enough to attend an emergency summit between nations, accompanied by his perverted master as penance for their little escapade. The downtime allowed them to bond at a slow pace. Bara-Ruby might not have been comfortable being the center of attention, but it was only natural, and it would be a while before the novelty wore off.

Unless something were to rekindle the fascination, such as that spark of inspiration.

Getting lost once more in his thoughts, Naruto opted to stare at the colloid broth instead of what was really on his mind. The miso particles floating around within their own little nebulae like palm-sized galaxies.

The sight made him think back on one of Ruby's classes, way back when. One proctored by an overly enthusiastic Tai Yang in which they learned about astronomy and another world beyond their own.

Amidst the debilitatingly boring filler about the history and science, almost hidden had been the marvelous fact about how large their universes were. And not only large- but fast. Expanding many times faster than what one could possible accomplish- faster than what one could possibly imagine.

Now, he had done the impossible and envisioned it.

Though lacking the words to describe this revelation, he had somehow pictured how something so large and complex could appear to be standing still. And yet, evolving and developing worlds of thought in what it would regard as a blink of an eye.

It wasn't his ramen that was like that. It was Ruby.

Bara was a stinger left behind by some meddlesome insect, the affected area had swelled, acclimating to a new level. But Bara-Ruby had introduced something below the surface that was slowly but surely changing their anatomy. Not just theirs, but hers as well.

So slow was the change, that it didn't register on any scale. But looking at it removed, stepping back to the planetary scale, the shy girl which had popped out of nowhere had been moving stars to get where she was.

"N-Naruto." It wasn't the ghostly pale skin which changed, but the degree to which the pink spread over it. "Y-you're staring at me."

"Oh…oh! Sorry." Chuckling at his own chagrin, he couldn't help the small smile which had formed without his knowledge.

"Wanna tell us what you were thinking about?" His teammate asked with a knowing smile of her own.

"Mmm," He hummed, thinking about how best to distill what it was. "Just how amazing you are- I mean, it is." His blush was but a pale comparison to Bara-Ruby's.

"Oh?" The weapon-loving girl's smile broke past its bonds to spread endemically across her face as she leered at the other girl who was trying to burrow into the wooden floor like a termite.

"P-please, Naruto. Don't say things like that. I'm- I'm… not so great."

Such a familiar statement, and one so irksome to his ideology. It was even more troublesome that he couldn't remember where it had come from, and both these facts made him want to frown. Instead, that small smile which the blush had failed to extinguish was buttressed up by a swelling pride.

"You know that's not true." A statement filled with righteousness instead of admonishment, adjacent to which Naruto's teammate began to feel something else instead of playfulness. Perhaps wistfulness, longing to hear that kind of thing directed to herself. "Life in general is amazing. But that's not what I'm talking about. What I mean is, I think I've finally figured it out."

"Figured it out?" Embarrassment put on hold for curiosity. Naruto nodded, setting his chopsticks horizontally across the rim of the bowl.

"Yeah. I finally figured out who you are."

Both girls looked puzzled by this, and Tenten a little troubled as she realized that this was something else out of her depth.

"You're not Ruby, but you are a part of her. You're her doubt."

Where anyone else would take that statement as a one-way ticket to the funny farm, their relationship had developed to the point where his teammate looked instead at the subject critically before deciding her position.

"I'm… Doubt?" She spoke as if it were a name, trying it on like the glass slipper from one of the stories her mother so often read.

"Yup." He flopped back into the wooden chair, looking both satisfied and weary from this revelation. "And that's why what you are doing is so incredible."

"I don't know, doesn't that seem sort of… silly?" It was clear however, that Tenten felt far sillier for suggesting this.

"No… it explains things." A serious look washed away whatever else was blemishing Bara's perfectly white skin. "Why… Ruby has been acting so impulsive and stubborn lately. It also explains why I feel the way I do, here and yet not." She looked to Naruto. "…A person, and yet not."

"You **are** Ruby. An important part of her."

A famous philosopher was once erroneously quoted as saying 'I think, therefore I am'. Yet it is more accurate that his words translate to: 'I _doubt_ , therefore I am'. Hesitation, like any human emotion is both a gift and a curse. It stops them from doing something foolish. But becoming too strong, stops them from doing anything at all. Like all things in life, moderation was key.

"I am Ruby… I **am** Ruby." Hands balled together and pressed against her chest, ready to release a shackled anxiety. "I'm her, I'm her doubt."

There was a certainty behind these words. At times, irony can be good.

In fact, the only one at odds with this joyous mood that late-breakfast had garnered was Tenten who wore a conflicted joy. Happiness yes, but that other part was hard to identify. It couldn't have been jealousy, could it? Of what, was perhaps a better question.

Sadly, this moment was overshadowed by another earth-shattering revelation.

"What in the heck is _**that**_?!"

Plates rattled, floorboards groaned, and their chairs tap-danced across the room. It appeared as if the heavens above had taken offense with this acquiring of knowledge.

Propper earthquake etiquette would have had them remain indoors, but they were all ninja (and one huntress in training) and so they rushed out the various openings in the apartment to appraise the situation.

Upon arriving on the rooftop, the chilling shadow which awaited them there froze the three solid.

Staring up at that massive earthen sphere which eclipsed the sun, one would have expected a myriad of thoughts to be pinballing through each of their heads, such as when Naruto found truth in his noodles. Yet, they could barely even form one, and that sole focus was on survival.

Except for Naruto, who lucidly imagined that this was how the moon was broken.

" **I am God** " A voice from on high declared with a gravity that seemed to tug at their very core- or was that the mass of the gargantuan marble?

" **And you will know my Pain**."


	29. Op Ed

**Haha! Not dead! Take that mother-nature! Ah, my friends, what an Odyssey it has been to finally return to your waiting arms!**

 **...Um, guys? Hello? Anyone there?**

 **I'm all alone.**

 **No! I won't go back! No more bunking in a dilapidated hospital building! No more noisy roommates who stay up all night drinking! No more abstract mapping exercises designed to bend my mind into origami! No more pine-cones! AAAGGGH!**

 **Okay, I'm good now. And back for a while, too, if I have any say about it. (noticed quite a few errors in this chapter and the previous one, so I better be). So enjoy. Meanwhile, there's work to be done...**

* * *

" **You will know my Pain.** "

A promise which filled ears as the moon-sized sphere eclipsed their sun.

Everything was so still that things felt as if they had always been that way. As if darkness was forever the monarch over a motionless and cold world. There was no point in running, for everything was fixed in that snapshot of horror.

No, it was simply so large that everything just appeared to be frozen in time by comparison. Things were happening- had been occurring while they were sitting at the breakfast table totally oblivious. This breakaway moon above their home had not always been there, nor had it just appeared. Even now, roofs were being peeled off tile by tile to join its desertion from the Earth, carts from the street lifted up on invisible strings and all the junk which had been lost in alleyways found itself in the air.

There was activity beneath the stillness. Ninja crawling to and froe, towards and away from snakes of smoke becoming tangled up in that giant ball of yarn in the sky. Everything seemed to revolve around that inescapable nexus which threatened to swallow their universe whole.

" **Where is the Jinchῡriki for the Nine-Tails? Where is Uzumaki Naruto?** "

"Naruto!"

This was not the dream-world where he could do nothing, this was the horrid reality which he was obliged to action.

More clones than he though himself capable of suddenly swarmed the neighborhood, interposing themselves between gaping onlookers who were already at maximum surprise. A sea of orange lifted off the ground in a wave, depositing their passengers somewhere far away from ground zero. Within this typhoon of cries was the yelp of his teammate, barely registering over the sound of so many others. Bara-Ruby had not asked permission before whisking her away.

The copies deposited their civilian cargo somewhere near the far western wall of the village, hoping that would be far enough away. Most of the horde did not have enough chakra for a return trip and simply dispelled themselves to bolster the others. The surviving clones leapt back into the shadow almost immediately, only one halting against that return wave.

Pausing, the original mulled on what Yamato had told his clone about the situation. By then, it was already apparent that the Akatsuki had caught up to him.

Not bothering to relay orders to the rest of him, Naruto instead regarded the extraterrestrial orb looming over his home- a dollop of color next to it winking mockingly. He headed towards that first star of the gloomy night.

"Wait! Naruto! Where are you going?!"

He spared a glance back at his comrade who was clawing her way out of Bara-Ruby's arms, a stalwart gleam in her eyes that was reflected mutely by the pale girl. Biting his lip, he chose to meet the second, searching gaze, mouthing the words to her more than speaking.

'Protect her, Ruby.'

And then he was off. Faster than he ever had before.

He would endure her scolding- if he survived.

Now that he is moving fast, once again everything slows down. Dioramas pass him by in frozen clips of people screaming in horror, mute cries as the bodies scramble over one another. Suddenly a cardboard cutout is thrust into his path.

Nay- it's not a static display, rather a jerky puppet which thrusts its blocky arm at his face.

The metal construct passes through it as his dispersed molecules skip off the hard surface. He reappears out of the Shunshin, skidding with the same momentum across a rooftop until arrested by a chimney which collapses against his back.

Not taking his eyes off the intruder even when one of the bricks tumbled off his head, Naruto slowly adjusted himself to leap off again at any moment. This person, garbed in the ubiquitous Akatsuki robes which barely fit his massive body, and topped with the orange splash of hair he had seen from a distance exuded a disquieting air. A description that when qualified against other members of the criminal organization, was saying something.

" **At last, Uzumaki Naruto, we meet face to face**."

Speaking in that same monotone condescension which filled every nook and cranny of his surroundings, it was hard to deny. Yet Naruto still felt as if this were not quite true. Feeling as though the man were entirely a machine, and not just that one, jutting monstrosity of an arm.

"And who are you?" Standing with a slight wobble, he debated the use of going for his scythe. His speed had increased, but this man- this _thing_ was on another level. "You Akatsuki's groupie or something?" Defaulting to irreverence, he mocked the gruesome piercings decorating the hulking man's face.

" **We are Pain**." It 'spoke' again, lips moving, words vocalized, but dull as if they were spoken in a padded room. " **And we have come for you**."

"Yeah, I got that." Was he far enough away from civilians to use some heavy explosives to escape? This guy didn't seem like the type to be affected by any of his lesser stock. "So now you know where I am, think you could tell your buddy making the giant spit-ball to shove-it where the sun don't shine?"

" **There is no point in stalling, Naruto-san.** " The younger man flinched as his ploy was so easily picked out. " **Everyone in this world will know true pain, soon enough.** "

"Oi-! I'm your target, don't you fucking dare-!"

Gravity lurched as the planetary mass descended behind him. One did not need to be looking to feel the shifting tides of bile in the stomach. He tore his gaze away from the Akatsuki for this occasion as the sphere built from the elements of Konoha was about to be used against her.

"No-"

It was a newfound kind of horror to be subject to this unfathomable scene and not be able to lift a finger to stop it. Even when he had felt helpless to stop things before, at least there had been someone he could rely upon, an extension of his will in the other plane. This was his world, and he was but a hungry ghost reaching out impotently at something that was already gone.

Everything happened too fast, the ground practically leaping up to meet its fate- no, wait, it wasn't just dirt, but wind, water, fire, and a cosmos of other colors come to intercept. In the center, a vortex of nether jabbed a pinhole in the falling rock, sucking the inside out like it was just a hollow balloon.

They were saved- but how? So many things today had defied logic that he did not stop to contemplate one more.

Not entirely delivered from the wrath of the heavens, the dwarf-moon exploded under the combine assault of a thousand Jutsu, unleashing a rain of fire and brimstone upon the buildings. It didn't matter- they would survive, and Naruto would use this distraction to turn the tide in his own battle.

Yes, the giant, half-metal man was fast. But Naruto had spent his whole life comparing to an impossible goal, and anything underneath that paled in comparison. _Radiant Thorn_ sunk once- twice- three times into the vulnerable flesh of the man, and twice more into the exposed circuitry of the machine. Knowing such technology from Remnant, the appearance didn't faze him. Not even when the man mutated his other arm, and then his leg, and a tail of concertina wire sprouted from his hind quarters.

Breaking away with backflip and sticking the landing with scythe held out to the side, he smirked as the arm-mounted energy-weapon pointed at him started to glow. Whoever this person was must have thought him a total bumpkin, little to know he was probably the one most qualified in the entire village to deal with this kind of threat.

Turning his back as the explosive note detonated on the man's arm, Naruto caught the sudden updraft and let it lift him further into the fray.

"Cannonball!"

The cry penetrated through the fog of battle, though it wasn't until a giant toad spawned in the middle of the air did anyone take notice of the blond scythe-wielder entering the fray, hitching a ride on its back.

The scarlet and salmon-colored amphibian headed straight for a massive bird with a turritella -shaped beak that was picking at several Leaf-shinobi throwing ineffectual weapons and techniques at it. The avian barely had time to squawk and flap its wings once irately before the sasumata-wielding summon crushed it under it girth.

"Kakashi-sempai!" Recognizing a shock of gray hair amidst the ants grappling on the ground below, he leapt off the toad's back and mid-way through his fall, apparated next to the Jōnin.

"Naruto?!" The older man sounded and looked alarmed, a far cry from his almost criminally aloof demeanor. Both eyes exposed, looking at Naruto with sweat beading down the ridge of his nose and into the iconic mask. "What in Kami's name are you doing here? Akatsuki is after _you_. You need to get as far away as possible, now!"

"And let them go through the rest of the village to get to me? Fat chance." He narrowed his eyes at the calm individual opposite them, eerily familiar orange hair shading eyes that would have looked bored except for the pulsating rings faceted in kunzite.

It was obvious that Kakashi was more than reluctant to accept this logic, glaring down at the bullish teen. Though he was forced to change his mind as the two of them were suddenly drawn in the other direction by an unrelenting pull towards the orange-haired man.

Less winded than his superior, Naruto was quicker on the uptake to grab the man's hand and flicker out of the invisible riptide before the two of them could become impaled on the carbon-black spikes which were jutting out of the orange-haired Akatsuki's robes.

Being deposited from the body-flicker clumsily, he was quicker to right himself this time, rolling to a knee in front of the Jōnin who had given up arguing and silently gave him orders through taps on his back.

With a nod that could have been construed as a mark of determination, Naruto shot off at the robed-man, two clones spawning seamlessly on either side. All three were skewered instantaneously by that coal-black alloy which projected from the man's wrists. The puffs of smoke dispersing in their wake obscured the twirling scythe as it launched out from the haze.

Plucking one of the elongate rods, the man raised the Bo staff-length to deflect the thrown blade up into the air. Where it then transformed back into Naruto wielding the same serrated scythe, bearing down upon him. Naruto's teeth were the only thing effected by his earth-shattering blow as it was blocked casually by the man. They smashed one set against the other as he strained countering the impossibly strong defense. Glaring back at the impassive purple eyes staring down at him, and those painful-yet stylish looking piercings which struck him as odd for a uniform.

" **What you are doing is pointless.** " The voice was now beginning to annoy him on a visceral level, his body rebelling against the language of destiny. " **You won't win against us. This is the way the world works, everyone feels pain, everyone suffers and dies. It is God's duty to bring that about.** "

"You're wrong." The strain on his face morphed into a grin.

" **Oh?** " He asked, without inflection.

"Yeah, it isn't pointless." A strength dredged up from places unknown caused a barely-detectible widening of the man's eyes. "It might be futile, but it isn't pointless. Even if I fail, there's a reason for doing this!"

Punctuating his statement, a pair of hands burst forth from beneath the orange-haired man, dragging him down with them into the depths of the ground he had previously used so wantonly.

" _Harvest time!_ " Naruto declared as he prepared to separate the chaff from the wheat.

Killing went against Naruto's principles. Ruby and her world had bent him unwittingly in this direction, and conversely, perhaps his had done the opposite for her. Things in life were never black and white, moderation in all things, even in death.

Just this once, he would indulge himself.

" **I see…** " Continuing unphased, despite only his monotonous head sticking above the ground, the man pontificated. " **…It is futile, then.** "

The man who fancied himself a god rejected the death which awaited him, throwing off its yoke as easily as he did the tons of dirt around his shoulders with an almighty push. Shards and loose humus alike flew in every direction, crashing into the approaching Naruto and blinding him with it fine particles.

" **The wording will not change the outcome.** "

A rod shot out from within the red and black sleeve, pinning Naruto by his hood as he made to dodge based on the cutting whistle alone.

 _One_

" **You will be coming with us. You will become part of a new world, one without conflict.** "

Naruto stopped struggling against the garment, watched the man slowly approach with a cocked head.

 _Two_

" **Using the power of the Bijῡ I will end wars. You, Naruto-san, were created as a weapon, and I will turn you into an instrument of peace. Accept what you are, accept the pain of suffering, and accept that it is human destiny to fail time and again. I have become that Pain in order to break the cycle.** "

 _Three_

"…And they call me crazy." Naruto scoffed, to no visual effect on the man who liked repeating the word 'pain'. "You don't really believe in that crock, do you?"

Wordlessly that lifeless mouth continued his trek.

 _Four_

" **You are more fool than I thought, Uzumaki Naruto.** " The young man frowned at what sounded like the first hint of actual disappointment from the homicidal man. But he wouldn't have to subject himself to it much longer.

The time Kakashi had indicated through those taps was almost up.

 _Fi-_

There was a sound like the universe itself was being ripped apart, a crackling, tearing, chirping noise which accompanied a plasma glow, coming in too hot to possibly dodge. The man, Pain, didn't even register this immanent danger, even when it thrust at him and plunged straight through-

The massive half-metal Akatsuki who had interposed himself at the last possible moment, taking the lightning-coated fist to his chest in place of the other.

" **And so…** " Pain held up his palm to the back of his own comrade and shot another one of his adamantine rods straight through his body. The man being impaled didn't so much as flinch, but the same could not be said for Kakashi on the other side who collapsed while holding his bleeding shoulder. " **the cycle of pain continues.** "

"-And you're beginning to be a pain in my ass!"

With the rod connecting through his undead teammate, Pain didn't have time to maneuver out of the way as another blue light engulphed his dead, violet eyes. A hard light this time, swirling, grinding away into his stomach and scrambling his internal organs. Naruto plunged his Rasengan as best as he could _through_ the to have killed the other orange-haired Akatsuki moments before, this time he intended to _destroy_.

" **The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result.** "

Five seconds were up, and a constant force like continually falling from a ten-story building onto solid concrete slammed into him. Slapping him across the remains of what was once a popular shopping district. Entirely numb by the time it ceased, he soared ballistically through a brick wall- another one, almost a third if something else hadn't caught him.

Another brick wall would have been preferable.

Picking himself up, he was greeted with a hideously gaping mouth the size of one of the many storefronts which once decorated this part of the village. An awning of shock-white hair sat upon sickly purple skin in this ghastly image.

Thankfully he didn't have to look at it for long, but that was because worming hands stretched out from its non-existent body and shoved themselves down his throat, retreating with their prize of his tongue. Was it his tongue, though? It stretched from his base out of his mouth like a ripcord for his soul. He was helpless as well. With eyes screwed up in his head, he could only feel as if he were being turned inside and exposed to the world. Though he could also hear the infuriating sound of that man's voice.

" **This is the** _ **Meifu no Ō**_ **technique, and if you lie at any point, it will judge you unfit and reap your life-force.** " As incredible as this might have seemed to anyone else, Naruto had no reason to disbelieve the man from what he had seen. " **So tell me, Naruto-san, are you insane?** "

He could feel the precarious state of his existence being weighed on an invisible balance, that hand begging a chance to sever his spirit.

"No."

" **Interesting.** " That all-encompassing voice felt to be pacing slowly around him, honestly curious with his interrogation. " **Then the reason you are fighting is because you believe you offer something different. Admittedly, you have been an anomaly ever since I learned of your existence. The conflicting reports I have been getting have been baffling. I was wondering if perhaps we were being misled, a stand-in serving to obscure your true nature. Maybe one of Jiraiya-sensei's obfuscations.** "

Naruto would have struggled against his capture- he was, but it felt like he wasn't doing anything.

" **Ineffectually weak that you would freeze under the mere gaze of a real battle, yet strong enough to fight off not one, but two of our members. Unabashed and frank with your words, yet with a keen sense of danger that borders on the legendary Hyῡga omniscience. Idealistic with your pursuits yet callous with your means. That scythe you carry around is a symbol of death in many cultures, yet you would spare an enemy if given the chance. Tell me, do you think you are a good person?** "

Still under the binds of the King of Hell, Naruto answered as best as he could. Throat dry which had nothing to do with his lockjaw.

"Yes."

" **I see…** " Though it was only a partial lie, the technique did not seem to register it as such. " **Perhaps I should word that better: what do you fight for that makes you believe you are right? Akatsuki is for the pursuit of peace, and you would fight against that. So what do you stand for?** "

That was easy, he and Ruby stood for the same thing.

Didn't they?

In the annals of memory that he could upon call with but a whim, there was nothing. How could such a core and defining thing have gone unasked? Simple: because they had neither thought they needed to. Ruby and he fought for themselves, the two of them existing in a radio galaxy orbiting around one another- still parsecs away from anyone else.

Did he consider himself better than everyone because of this? Did this narrow-minded selflessness make him blind to the others in his life?

The answer was an emphatic yes, a heartbroken yes when Tenten had confronted him about it. He'd been trying to fix this issue, because he didn't just want to live for himself. The more people he brought under his umbrella of protection, the more he lived life and the more lives he lived, through Ruby's eyes as well as his own.

"I want to make a beautiful world."

One which had everything- the good and the bad. He wanted to feel it all.

" **How droll. I was expecting more. It turns out you're not as interesting as was made out to be.** "

"That's just what the boring people say." Though he still couldn't move his arms, he could grin.

" **Unfortunately, I must live in the real world. One which requires sacrifice in order to achieve anything.** "

"I never said there wouldn't be hardships, it wouldn't be interesting otherwise."

" **You believe that pain is interesting? That it is something to be lauded?** " Contrivedly, as he weaned a sliver of anger out of the orange-haired man, his smile but grew.

"It's going to happen, but so is the happiness. Can't we take joy in that?"

Despite his aloof bearing, Pain derived a kind of enjoyment from seeing Naruto writhe in agony, that ghoulish construct straining at his soul.

" **Did I forget to mention that I am the one asking questions here? Though if what you are saying is to be believed, then you would come to enjoy that experience. Do you think your friends would as well?** "

A magnetic reversal in Naruto snapped the grin down into a vicious snarl.

"You fancy yourself a God looking down on us like blades of grass. Well, for every person that you've buried in the ground in the name of your 'peace' another dozen will grow again to defy you."

" **Yes, you are like weeds, which is why you need to be culled. But I warn you, you did not answer my question.** "

"Then how's this: you're never going to find out, because I'm not going to let you hurt them."

" **And how do you plan to do that? What is your ingenuous new strategy to bring about a 'Beautiful World'?** "

"Simple: with blood, sweat, tears, and my own hands!"

Hands from all around arrived to sever the hold the death-god had on him, to deliver him from evil. Not the hands of gods, these were but the tools of rebellious mortals. Brandishing steel, chakra, and callouses as thick as gloves, they wrenched their comrade free and drove the ringleader back. They bore his weary body, supported him despite it all.

" **For all your talk, you seem very willing to let others suffer in your place.** "

There was no desire to see the bitterness in that purple gaze. So instead Naruto looked up to those gathered around. The faces of his comrades, and their hands gently lifting him to his feet. Determined looks etched at every glance, as resolute and sure as the grip they had on him, unable to let go.

"You dropped this." With a patient smile, Tenten handed over his blade which he took into his possession, fingers tightening against what was an extension of himself- an extension of Ruby all the way into this other world.

"Thanks." He said simply, turning back to face Pain who was being backed by his own entourage, a gaggle of faces and bodies all with that shock-orange hair and disfiguring piercings. And those same, ringed, hollow stares.

How feeble they looked compared to their determination.

"That's because we fight together." He retorted across the engulphed landscape, unflinchingly meeting that disturbingly blank stare. "Their hands are my own, we are all part of one another. We may not always see eye to eye-" He looked over his shoulder to see just how many he had unknowingly gathered behind him. There was Tenten, Neji, Rock Lee, Sasuke, a battle-weary Kakashi and Yamato, Sakura, and many more which he couldn't see past their impenetrable wall but which he could feel supporting him.

"-but we will always fight as one to protect what we hold dear!"

" **Very well,** " Pain spoke, unphased by the stalwart bastion erected in front of him. " **then they shall all bear your punishment while you watch them die.** "

And like that, the battle for Konoha was renewed. It was unbridled chaos for an unfathomably long time, the six 'Paths' of Pain giving them the workaround until they managed to coax out their secrets one by one.

But not without sacrifice.

The one they called 'Naraka', the same which had summoned the King of Hell, could call upon the same power to restore any one of the enemy combatants, revealing how the one Naruto had blasted had come back to life. If this were not enough to stack the odds against them, the six Pains had a connection not unlike he and Ruby, only they could share the thoughts on what they saw through the other's eyes. It was like dealing with a hive mind, such as his clones, but each one on a level removed from anything they'd ever dealt with.

Of all the times for Akatsuki to strike, it had to be when both Jiraiya and Tsunade were out of the village. Though with how badly they were being beaten, would it have even made a difference?

Soon there was just a score of the defenders left. Then a handful. Then a couple. Finally, Naruto miraculously found himself all alone except for Sasuke by his side, both panting like dogs. The others were strewn about the battlefield in various states which he couldn't bring himself to ascertain. It was numbing, but like a stich in the side he couldn't stop to think about it. Could only keep pressing on.

"This is… a fine mess… you've gotten us into, Dobe." The raven-haired boy snarked, any animosity broken up by his fluctuating breath.

"If you're getting tired… you can always quit."

Secretly he wanted him to take this offer. Save himself, maybe grab a few others and go as far away as possible from that place so that he wouldn't see his inevitable defeat.

"I wasn't… complaining." Sasuke huffed. "Don't tell me you're getting soft. Come on, we still have to show these bastards where true strength comes from. You're not letting me down, are you?"

Trying to rise to the challenge, Naruto pushed himself up using _Radiant Thorn_ as a crutch, but soon collapsed back down to a single knee on the now universally trashed ground. How much of Konoha was even left by this point? Was it even worth fighting for?

"Wake up, Baka!" The shout like an electric shock jolted his muscles, bringing him upright. "You're not allowed to sleep now, you can't leave the story hanging like this. What do you suppose Ruby would think?"

Ruby. A lifetime of fighting had somehow almost made him forget that she was always watching. There was no way he could give up like this. He'd worked his whole life to be as strong and as fast as she- all to give her a happy ending. He could not fail as long as he had an audience.

He remembered there was someone else always watching.

This was his story, wasn't it? He should be able to dictate how it ended.

"Alright then… here's the plan…"

As a self-proclaimed god, the six Pain operating as one were torn between the very human disappointment and divine boredom watching as yet another unsuccessful tactic was hashed out. The surreptitious looks that they sent at Naraka Path were less worrying and more irritating as they indicated a speck of hope remained.

" **Allow me to correct any notions you have of victory.** "

It was the central Path, or Deva Path, who spoke, but Naraka who moved, summoning yet again that immortal visage without any visible effort. The plans they had made were prepared for this. What they were not prepared for was the people who stepped out of the gaping maw, striding on the lolling tongue like a red carpet.

"Itachi-!"

The near-twin of Sasuke regarded his younger sibling impassively as if neither of the two were really present, but there was also no doubt that this was no illusion as the shark-toothed grin of the man's partner assured them.

" **Somehow you have managed to resist where others have fallen. This is unacceptable, as I need you to feel the hopelessness of utter defeat. You will succumb to the overwhelming odds against you, and realize that your efforts were fated to fail from the very start.** "

"You just said the wrong fucking thing! Sasuke-!" It was his turn to rattle the bones of his comrade in arms, the one who should have been like a brother to him years before this, but were separated by their own forms of detachment. "You're stronger than some bullshit Fate! Don't you dare let him dictate what you have to do!" Without a doubt, he needed Sasuke to help him beat the Naraka path. Without the Uchiha, they stood no chance of subduing it. And without defeating it, they stood no chance at victory.

Too long had Sasuke followed Naruto's doctrine without seeing result, and true to his words, he was going to seize his own fate.

"ITACHI!"

Naruto watched his comrade bound off with the same kind of detachment as if Sasuke were just one of the other bodies resting discontentedly throughout the rubble. There would be no question that he would fight, but without his heart in it. That would be the definition of pointless.

Leaning on _Samahed,_ the blue-skinned swordsman was more than willing to let the two brothers sort things out on their own while he watched the world burn from the sidelines. It hardly mattered now, anyway.

" **I hope after all this you begin to see my point, Naruto.** " Walking almost casually across the war-torn landscape, hardly shifting his robes which didn't possess even a nick or scratch. " **Not only was your effort doomed to fail, but it was unsound to begin with. Humans will always choose hatred over love, pain over contentment. The latter is an illusion all too easily dispelled. Which is why I need the power of the Bijῡ, to make that fantasy everlasting, and thus bring about peace at last.** "

What was real? Had any of his efforts every been true? Going through the motions of training, trying to become stronger did not amount to anything in the end. For all their rebelling against the hardships which life dealt them, was it not Fate itself that brought him and Ruby together? What of free will?

Maybe life itself was the greatest illusion. Millions of stories already penned down in some forgotten manuscript. Reams of them concluded and locked away to never be seen again. Life, a tale without a reader. Pointless.

If that was the case, it wouldn't matter which one of them walked away from this confrontation. Even… even Ruby would someday forget his story if he were not there to remind her. The history of his world ended with him. Though if hatred were all that was written about, would it even be worth remembering?

"No."

The simple word stopped Pain in his tracks, hiding those perversely divine eyes behind a blink.

"I'm not going to let this story be one of Pain and suffering. It's not going to be one without hope. And even if I don't succeed today, rest assured that others will know about it and take up the fight. Because life always finds a way." He grinned and planted the heel of his scythe in the ground. "Because we are like weeds, and eventually we will overcome the devastation people like you cause."

Both he and Pain blinked at the same time. Though when he opened his eyes, it was met point-blank by the all-encompassing purple irises, each ring like an asteroid belt surrounding the center of a galaxy. Dead space, a vacuum. Up close, it was almost beautiful, in a way.

At least until the blow smashed him in the hollow spot under his chest, forcing the blade out of his hand and causing him to crumple in a dark heap, alone.

" **Absurdity.** "

For an ending line, it wasn't bad. Almost poetic in its brevity.

This is not just some dime-novel though. Not just his story, and thus not where it leaves off.

* * *

"HHUUUHHHUUUHH!"

For the second time, Ruby found herself falling off her bunk-bed, crashing to the floor in a breathless heap. Her arms quaked as she tried to push herself to her feet, gasps forced out of her each time she slipped back down.

"Eh- what's going- Ruby!"

Serendipity would have Weiss be the first to wake, even though the girl had likely become all but immune to the noisy girl bunked above her. The startle of seeing her leader flopping around on their floor like a fish, eyes wide and glistening, was enough for her to throw off all decorum as well as her heavy comforter and leap to the ground in her aid.

"Guhh… could you guys keep it-"

The young woman who would barely be able to drag herself out of bed at noon on weekends was awake almost instantaneously, crouching on the balls of her feet next to her hyperventilating sister. Frantically trying to scoot the girl into her lap, Yang pushing past the clawing hands desperately trying to come up for air.

"What's going on?"

Alert as if she'd always been awake, Blake was halfway out of her bed and joining the group on the floor before they realized it, amber eyes flitting back and forth between their hyperconscious leader and the baffled faces surrounding her.

"I don't know! Ruby just fell out of bed and I noticed that she was acting really weird. Is she having a seizure or something?"

"Has she ever had something like this before?" Managing to keep her wits about her despite the situation, Blake asked the prudent question.

"I-I don't-" The illusion of knowing her sister shattered and made her stumble on things she had held on to for so long.

"Na-Na-Naru-"

"Ruby!" They all turned their attention back to the girl who was now coming around, each blink bringing back some clarity in her eyes.

"Something happened with Naruto?"

Weiss shot a look at Blake for asking what she deemed to be an inappropriate question given the very real crisis they were having.

"Someone should go get the nurse." Standing up, Weiss was startled for the second time as a clammy hand grasped her wrist in an iron grip.

"No! Don't- don't go!" Breathing more consistently, though no less raggedly and fast, Ruby managed to get out a few more words. "I need you! I need you to knock me out!"

There was an incredulous pause in which eyes sought out some fragment of direction in the darkened room.

"-That's it, I'm getting the nurse."

"Youdon't- you don't think you can do it, do you?!"

"That's enough Ruby, just calm down and-" Unwisely, her sister tried to get in between the two.

"Ha!"

With the only light being from the moon streaming in through the window, it took them a while to realize what had happened. Not until the prize was held up to the silver light, golden hair throwing a sparkling contrast to the four sets of glowing eyes.

"Oh-"

"-Shit"

"Ruby…"

In her panicked state Ruby could only smile depravedly, glassy eyes clamping shut along with her mouth to anticipate the blow that was about- that needed to come.

Nothing happened.

"Yang?" She eked out, slowly cracking an eye to see if she were even still in the room.

The elder girl was, though had her back turned and was trembling with barely-controlled rage.

"…No. I'm not going to hit you, Ruby. I owe you at least that much for my failures."

Distraught rather than pleased with the conclusion, Ruby turned with her desperation first to Blake who already had her hands thrown into the air to shrug off the duty. Weiss was still looking aghast at her, and so she shot to her feet and got her nose up into the other girl's face.

"-Come on Weiss! Hit me! Haven't you wanted to this whole time!"

"W-well yes- I mean, no! This is utter nonsense! Just calm down and try to explain what's going on, maybe we can help you." Though there was very little doubt of that happening.

"There's no time!" Shaking the other girl both figuratively and literally as Ruby's twiggy arms locked onto Weiss like a vice. "I bet you can't! You're just a weak, feckless, bratty, disingenuous-" Ruby was throwing the book at her to elicit a reaction, words she neither understood nor knew how to pronounce all fair play. "-crummy, rude, pompous, flat-chested-"

"FLAT CHESTED?!"

Just as Ruby's list of invectives was thrown out without thought, so too was Weiss's openhand palm which connected to Ruby's chin. A sharp crack echoed throughout the small room and seemed to hang there along with the girl's body in rigor-mortis for a full three breaths.

Then the girl flopped over like a board on the lightly-carpeted floor, out cold once again.

* * *

Impossibly, he had been waiting for the moment when his eyes would snap open. There was never any doubt.

No delay as the mantra of seals and Chakra states memorized over the past weeks coursed through his body like a switch had just been flipped.

" **Hm?** "

Pain had turned his head when he felt the jerky movement from the body being dragged by the Animal Path. Even before that extent of himself realized something was amiss, Naruto was already gone, leaving a blinding afterglow in his place. Where did he-

Making no attempt to hide, the young man crouched over one of the many unmoving bodies lying haphazardly among the remains of what was once the Village Hidden in the Leaves, slowly drawing the limp form into his arms and burying his shadowed face into its frazzled hair which had become untied from its tight knots.

" **Why did you not run?** " The leader of Akatsuki asked from across the great divide, heedless of the emotions pulsating like deadly radiation from the recalcitrant Jinchῡriki. " **If you do not even try to escape, then what did she die for?** "

Without a word he tucked the tri-pronged kunai he had impressed upon Tenten so long ago back into his pouch, it no longer being useful. Like her body, which he lay back on the stone-cold Earth. Then he raised himself, because he could.

" **Is this the first person you've ever lost?** "

"…No." It was the first he could hold with his own two hands, the first he could not escape guilt for. "And I know it won't be the last."

Everything and everyone had their time in the sun. He had Ruby would have equal days and nights of their own, until one outlived the other. Unless by some miracle they died on the selfsame day.

Even if they didn't, it went without saying that one would live for the other. Who else would carry their story onward?

" **You accept the Pain, then?** "

"I already said I did, or are you getting forgetful?" There was no playfulness as he thumbed the haft of _Radiant Thorn_. "Just because I accept that life comes with pain doesn't mean I have to lay back and let it fuck me."

He settled into wide-hipped stance, hand halfway up the handle of his scythe cocked behind his back and the other brandishing a tri-pronged kunai guarding his leg. Cold chips of sapphire scanning the Six enemies, Kisame still unmoved and watching with an increased grin at the surprise comeback.

"We don't get to pick where we're born, who we're born as nor the people that call themselves friends and family. We pick and choose our struggles, and even if that's the only real choice in life, I'd say that's enough."

" **Why choose to fight against the inevitable?** "

"Because…"

The kunai flew from his grip, flying straight at an impassive Deva Path who made no move to dodge it, still waiting for the answer to his question.

That triple-bladed weapon suddenly multiplied into a tornado of steel raining aimlessly across the battlefield. There was no reason to pull punches any more.

Odd summons spawned to block the attack, including the King of Hell which swallowed up none too few of the kunai. An armadillo crossed with a bull grunting as the rest were deflected off its armored hide.

" **It seems I am the one who is failing to adapt, forgetting your obstinance.** " Deva Pain droned. " **Next time I will cut off your arms and legs and we shall see how well you recover from that.** " Without having to make an audible command, the Paths most suited to fighting all leapt over the newly erected barriers, bar Deva who didn't bother to lift a finger. All the iconic Hiraishin-tagged kunai were on the other side, and there was no reason for him to exert himself further.

Seemingly contradicted in this thought by a flash of strawberry-colored light, he whipped around to see- absolutely nothing. A ploy? But how did he even get a technique behind the barrier anyway-?

"Ya know, that's not a very nice thing to say." Against all odds, the chipper voice came from behind him yet again. And though he was within striking range of the curious blond shinobi, he was incapable of doing anything but watch as the scythe-wielder menaced his blade over the neck of an already legless Naraka path. "-Let's see how you like it, when you're in the same boat!"

It looked like a single flash of movement, but the seconds which came after saw the body of Naraka path be separated into four more pieces.

"… **Why do you continue to fight against God? What use is there?** " Unperturbed by the sight of his comrade being julienned, Deva path was instead fixated on that still unanswered question. It seemed that being a god without being omniscient was most irksome. So to this thought, Naruto smiled even more viciously.

"Because."

" **Why?** " Almost as fast as the boy had been able to move, Deva had whipped his arms up and shot charcoal lances on other side of that unfaltering Cheshire smile, impaling either shoulder and pinning him against a wall. " **You** _ **will**_ **tell me. If your insanity has affected others you have had contact with, I will not be able to save them without knowing what ails you.** "

Pain slowly approached, caution and not casualness this time. He was not scared- no. He was a god, and this was not even a real body. But if he should be up against a genuine immortal…

" **There is no use in hiding behind those flesh and blood clones, I can see your Chakra**."

"Good to know."

Once again forcing the man to turn, he was treated to the sight of another Naruto, this one exuding the controlled burn which was Yokai. His entire body engulfed in flames which already bore two tails, yet not being consumed by it. The same could not be said for the severed head he clutched by the roots of its once long orange hair, now returning to brown with its defeat and rotting more than burning from the base up in that conflagration.

" **Why?** "

"Don't you mean: 'How'?" He asked with a grin, knowing that Pain's vision had been cut off from his paths for a span of all of two seconds.

The expressionless man seethed, cloak hiding whatever trace emotions were there to be observed.

Where once words had failed, all one had to do was interpret the shit-eating grin on the Jinchῡriki's face and the now third flickering tail erupting behind him to obtain an answer.

He was never fighting alone.

" **Why?!** "

"Because!"

The body accelerated faster than the red chakra could keep up and Deva Pain was actually forced to dodge as a guillotine strike came from behind. With the next he raised two of his unbreakable rods used as escrima to block with a defense like iron.

" **I will make you tell me!** "

Because every other story had been told. The only interesting ones left were those of impossibility, giving hope to the others who thought they knew how it all should end.

Life brought he and Ruby together, and it would be death which would tear them apart. Being separated from Ruby during that period of medically-induced unconsciousness made one think: how? To prevent it from happening again, and to be able to use that knowledge somewhere down the road. Like if you encountered another person with this visual telekinetic ability, and you wanted to interrupt it.

In this way, it was Naruto himself who was the impossibility, converting tragedy into celebration, defeat into success.

This is one of the many reason this is their story, and not mine.

" **What is there left to fight for? Everyone you knew is dead.** "

The scorpion tail of Asura Path gouged a long trench out of the once hard-packed streets, forcing Naruto into the air where he was assaulted by another drill-beaked bird. Remembering what Ruby had done to the Nevermore not too long ago, he took a page from her book and decapitated it upon a listing tower. Diving in through a window, he took shelter as the Asura path blasted a chunk from the rooftop.

"You're wrong!" Naruto screamed from the bombed-out building, knowing that the Deva path was waiting on baited breath. "You can try and take away everything important, you can try to break me as much as possible, but you can never take away what I stand for- woah!"

Then again, maybe giving away his position wasn't such a good idea as a hornet's nest of missiles targeted his voice and forced him to rapidly flicker between floors, the building pancaking level by level behind him.

Deva Pain would watch with only mild interest, because he knew that Naruto would somehow find his way out. If he didn't, the answer he would have gotten wouldn't be worth it.

" **Then I will keep you around long enough to strip everything that you ever were away from you. I will take away your sight, your taste, your hearing, any and all senses you might posses until there is nothing left of you.** " The Deva did not have to look to blast away the groping hands of rusty chakra which lunged out of the rubble with a Banshō Ten'in. The tendrils bowing around the almighty push as if they were little more than smoke. " **And when I am done with that, I will take away your Bijῡ, leaving you entirely alone in the moments before you die.** "

"You're one sick motherfucker, aren't you?" This pronouncement was sported with a grin, glad to be vindicated when he tore the man apart.

" **I do this only because you refuse to see the truth. It would be that much easier if you were to simply give up.** "

"You wouldn't know the truth if it came up and bit you on the ass."

At that, Deva Pain turned around to see another Naruto charging at him with a bleeding Rasengan. He didn't move a muscle as a blast of yellow energy flew over his shoulder and dispelled the clone in a cloud of smoke- one which was far larger than the norm and absorbed Deva Path.

" **You really are starting to bore me. Surely you know that this has no chance of working.** "

"Maybe I really am just nuts." The voice came from another hundred clones which could be seen by the other Paths outside the smoke. "Though that would mean your technique isn't quite as strong as you thought it was, huh? Guess you're not as divine as you pretend to be."

The clones mocking him were promptly dispelled through various rods flying like arrows and pinpoint fire from Asura Path. Though this left the field no less clear, and Naruto had already scored the most devastating blow of the match without even making contact.

This was just the opening move as more of those digit-faced snakes broke through the ground, dragging Animal path down with them.

" **This has gone on long enough.** " At the sacrifice of yet another path, he now had at least a general idea of where Naruto was. There were still Deva, Asura and Preta. He alone was more than sufficient to take out that stubborn worm.

Though the Chibaku Tensei had never fully impacted, a new crater almost as large in diameter as that earthen ball was stamped upon the ground beneath his feet as he lifted himself into the air. The cloud of obscuring smoke was brushed aside like dust on a dirty counter, leaving even more perfect desolation on that quasi-moonscape.

" **I must commend you for being able to take out half my bodies, However…** " A smaller crater dimpled into the first as an equal but opposite force rocketed out of it, heading straight for the floating Deva. He brushed aside the boy's clawed hands, again, and again, maneuvering around in that limitless battleground while continuing to look as unflappable as ever. " **Yet you have not even gained a scratch on me.** "

Naruto was bearing his teeth as he slashed, hopped and skipped to and froe off his clones spawning in the nick of time to keep him aloft. Apart from that animalistic demeanor, he was clearly in control of his actions. Pain had never been informed that Naruto was a perfect Jinchῡriki.

It was a distinct disadvantage not being able to fly, though. One which was exploited when another salvo of micro-missiles flew at him in a coordinated shell of explosions, dispelling his next platform and letting him drop. He did not fall far, only because Pain caught him by the throat and hurled him at the ground with even more velocity than before.

" **And this is where your story ends.** "

Picking himself off the ground, the cloaked Naruto only got about halfway before his knees buckled, body spasming as the energy felt like it was being drained out of him. It was, and as he flopped over on the ground, he saw two hands craned over him which were drawing the angry Yokai into steaming palms.

" **Do not worry, you will not die just yet. There will be plenty of time while we gather the rest of the Bijῡ. You will be the last of your brethren to be inducted, and during that period alive, you will experience the pain that I promised."**

"Be care…ful. You don't… take too much. It'd be… pretty funny if you killed me when you already won."

" **Don't worry. I already know this is one of your flesh-clones. I am simply informing the real you which is lurking around, waiting for its chance to strike.** "

"Oh? You so sure about that?"

" **The real you would have that obnoxious weapon you stole from Hidan.** " Pain declared with finality. " **Besides, I saw when you swapped bodies in the crater. Do you truly think you can hide anything from me?** "

"I did… I did once already…" Under the ministrations of Preta path, Naruto was fading in and out of consciousness. If he were to be believed, this was the real one, and any more than a few seconds after his eyes closed would be enough to suck out Chakra faster than the could be replenished, even through the hardened Chakra pathway of a Jinchῡriki. "You're pretty gullible… for a… god."

" **Foolish lies.** " There had never been a second time. There was no way he would be unaware of another breach of his mental link, even if it were just for the time it took to perform a replacement technique.

Right?

" **This is what you are reduced to? As an Uzumaki, you should have more pride.** "

"An… Uzu…maki?"

In a split-second where thoughts diverged, Preta Path looked to Deva Path, wondering if he should continue. The softness which might have then existed became a forgotten memory.

" **How truly sad. It seems you have lost more than you know, Naruto.** "

"Then… I hope… I hope… you lose it all, with me."

Pain's hand twitched, almost cutting off the draining Chakra. How much did the Nine-Tails contain, anyway? Legends and hearsay could only provide so much information.

" **You are just a clone, a slightly smarter and sturdier doll. No one will mourn your loss.** " Still scanning, _hoping_ that he was not mistaken.

"If… you… say… so.." It was so hard to keep his eyes open. "I… could… only… try, right?" The smile blossomed just before the explosion, separating Deva from Preta and blinding them both.

Taking a chance, Deva Path used his powers to shove Preta path out of the way. With the Chakra absorbing abilities, Preta Path was one piece he did not want to lose.

"Heh, made you look."

That bark of laughter was the second thing he did not want to hear, the first being the sound of flesh sliding over a wetted blade. The smoke had already cleared from his Banshō Ten'in, and he watched as Preta Path slid down to the base of Naruto's outstretched blade.

"You should have trusted your instincts."

" **I am above such things. Let me show you.** "

Chains shining as bright as the sun which had sunken low in the sky erupted from the remaining Pain's back, startling Naruto with their newfound appearance but not stopping him from using the Hiraishin to flash to one of his kunai scattered at the edge of the crater.

" **No mater how fast you are, I will find you, I will catch you.** " Pain swore, unleashing a fire-jutsu without the use of handseals while Naruto flashed to another one of his kunai, chakra cloak slowly rebuilding after he deactivated it to hide from the Deva Path.

Despite not understanding his logic, Pain seemed to know everything else about him, including where he would next appear. He met him there with two more solid black chakra receivers impaling themselves above his head as he crouched.

" **All your tags are scattered around in a circle which is child's play to predict. There is no escape.** "

"We'll see!"

From one to the next, keeping just barely ahead of Pain's combined jutsu and thrown attacks, until he started throwing the kunai in between jumps, pausing for just a second to give himself two possible paths to jump to. Pain was forced to guess which one he would use to teleport, and predict this from his all-observing position in the air.

The first were a fifty-fifty shot for Pain, a narrow miss for Naruto as he had to physically dodge and get himself singed as he lingered too long in one place. From there, the odds took off as soon hundreds of Hiraishin Kunai dotted the sky, being plucked seemingly at random by a pinkish lightning-bolt.

A carnival game with one ball and infinite cups, it wasn't a magic trick but a complex series of exponentials that one could derive by paying attention from the beginning with a keen eye.

Pain had the keenest eye of all.

"Got ya!"

Though it didn't appear that he was able to keep up with the consecutive jumps made in the blink of an eye as Naruto suddenly appeared behind him, scythe itching to reap his soul in recompense for all the ones he'd already taken. It was over unsatisfyingly quick, but it was better to be safe than-

The cloak-waring man disappeared in puff of smoke.

"Wha-"

Any elation he'd felt at the point he crossed the sound barrier was brutally shot down along with his body as his wings were clipped. He'd come too close, flown too near to the sun and now God was punishing his transgressions, sending him crashing against the ground and pinning him there for all eternity with four rods impaled through his wrists and ankles.

There was no chance to cry out as he was still trying to wrap his head around the sudden reversal and his fall from grace. Trying to breath through the blood welling up in his mouth from the tip of his tongue he'd bitten off. All he could think of was how Ruby would probably laugh at how pathetic he looked.

He hoped she would, as long as it would keep her from crying.

" **I truly hope that you at last see the futility.** " Landing in front of Naruto's strained vision with hardly a spec of dust disturbed, Pain crouched over his victim so he could just barely see those condescending, ringed eyes staring down at him.

" **The one who made it last this long is you. All this pain is derived from people like you who cannot understand the bigger picture, refuse to see the suffering that you cause with your actions."**

"Would you shut up already?" Whatever dismalness his immanent defeat held, he smiled in the face of it, perhaps knowing that his teeth were dyed crimson. "Man, you talk more than Ero-Senin!"

" **I take it you mean Jiraiya-sensei.** " If he was expecting the information that he, Pain, was also once a disciple of the Senin to be a shock, then he would be disappointed with the broadening of Naruto's smile. Possibly, he was amused with the stubborn resistance, a freshness which reminded him of the old days.

"Heh, nope. No way." Pinned to the ground though he was, Naruto still managed to shake his head. "If you're going to tell me that it was 'Fate' that had us meet because we're both Ero-sensei's students, I'ma call bullshit."

" **You are strange one, Naruto**."

"Thanks, but you're too boring for that compliment to mean much." Ignoring the biting pain, he tried to wiggle himself free only to give up with a cry combining agony and frustration as the rods sucked the will to fight out of him. "All you bad-guys are the same! When one of you fails, you just think it's 'cause you haven't done enough crazy shit yet! What makes you think **you're** any different than anyone else?! Why is your _great_ plan going to succeed where others have failed? If you've got nothing new to add, just _shut up!_ "

Angry tears were streaming down his face, impotently falling on the ground which would forever remain fallow. He buried his face in the dirt, smashing his forehead against loose rock and bits of debris, trying to keep himself away from the pain of knowledge for as long as he could. This was the end, he knew it, and he was still fighting against it. Even when Pain lived up to his promise- and he would- it would be a blessing if he didn't have to think of his failure.

Everything around him was gone. Almost everyone he knew in his world was dead. When he was younger, this had been the reality he was preparing himself for. Not literally, of course, but the same sort of loneliness which comes with such genocide. Hateful glares from the dead were no different than the living, it turned out. Maybe he would get lucky, and really would go insane before the true misery hit.

For all that it was worth, I promised to see things through until the end. Pain could take away all that, but there were still the memories, the days with Ruby that he couldn't touch. There was no point in pretending that he was going to get over this tragedy, no point in hoping for a better world beyond this one chance he'd been given.

What did he ever do to deserve being so lucky?

"…Just do it."

" **Try to face your demise with dignity.** "

Dignity. Yeah, right. There was none of that in death.

The hand passed over his head swiftly with a harsh displacement of air, almost like a blade. He prepared to black out and then wake up as someone else, feeling just as miserable, twice as helpless.

"… **Who are you?** "

Blinking, and he was not in that dorm room in Beacon, waiting patiently for the dawn. The sun was still setting, casting a long, red shadow over him which looked suspiciously like…

"Ruby Rose." The butt of _Radiant Thorn_ being planted in the ground for emphasis.

" **Ru-bi…Rozu.** " Though it hurt, Naruto couldn't help the chuckle at Pain's confusion trying to parse out the name while looking detachedly at his hand which sported a new gash.

"What'cha doing down there, Naruto?" He craned his neck to see her sorry smile staring pitiably down at him.

"Enjoying the view, I suppose." He was looking at her face which lolled to the side at his incorrigibleness, not that she was any better.

"Not going to tell me to run off and save myself, I suppose?"

"It'd be a bit hypocritical, wouldn't it?"

"Mm-hm. Yup. It would."

Pain was agreeable to let them have their moment while he tried to parse out exactly who this girl was and how she exhibited such speed.

"Your turn to play the hero, then."

"Don't get too cozy." Flicking back to face Pain, the pale gaze which she'd arrived with bled with color, or not quite color, but luster. "I'm not sure how long I can keep him busy."

" **It strikes me as odd that you would do so at all. Despite whatever speed ability that was, you seem… weak."**

"You've caught me on a bad day." She admitted with a bit of irony before quenching that gaze with a hiss and striking a battle stance with that scythe hefted like a twig. "But as long as I can hold out until Ero-Senin and Tsunade-sama get back, it will be worth the sacrifice."

" **I hope you still feel that way in the end.** "

Bravado as flat as ever, there might have been a hint of wavering behind that threat. It showed in the way he suddenly blitzed Bara-Ruby, taking both her and the pinned Naruto by surprise as she suddenly had to deflect two of the Chakra rods and then contend with a torrent of water threatening to sweep her off her feet.

A flicker of second thought was all she would allow herself when defending Naruto. When that was over she stepped back so that she was straddling the young man and twirled _Radiant Thorn_ in front of her, drawing upon that foreign energy she'd only felt coursing through her other's body. Through some miracle, the cycling scythe was covered in a thin layer of Chakra, enough to offset the raging stream.

Before the current even shut off however, Bara-Ruby became aware of a sixth sense- like a person crying in the back of her head, telling her to turn around. Allowing the water to slap her back was alright, being now able to block the spear headed for her spine. Skipping back to distance herself, at the same time she dragged _Radiant Thorn_ behind her and severing two of the four rods keeping Naruto in place.

Pain lunged to nullify her actions but was stymied yet again by the remarkable speed and prowess displayed by this frail looking girl. Her style was impossibly polished, and the way she gripped the oversized scythe was familiar, almost as if…

" **You use the same style as Naruto.** "

"You might say I taught it to him." She was all too content to talk, rather than fight. Letting Naruto wriggle his way out of the stubby restraints and hopefully free himself.

"… **Who** _ **are**_ **you, really, I wonder?** "

Uncomfortable under that dissecting gaze, she managed not to tremble and hold her ground in front of Naruto for a few precious seconds longer.

" **No matter,** " The voice came from behind, too fast, yet she still hiked up the butt of her weapon, hoping to destabilize Pain and maybe land a few hand-strikes if she could. " **You will simply be one more life on his burdened conscience.** "

"Ruby!"

It was as always, too little, too late.


	30. Feuilleton

**Hola, como-estan? Sorry for leaving everyone on a cliff-hanger. I really wanted to just split the chapter up because it was getting ridiculously long. I had intended to post the follow on immediately afterwards, but seeing as how the first part went through some pretty major cleanup after I retrieved my head from the Triassic, I decided this needed some heavy-duty work too. So, anyway, here it is as promised (to like, one of you, the rest it was implied).**

* * *

"Ruby!"

Saying something is easy. Like, 'I'm not going to let you-' or 'she doesn't mean anything to me'.

Pretending is also easy, so long as once still believes the story to be the truth with all their heart.

Doing is infinitely harder.

 _Living_ with that visceral image, _knowing_ that something so integral to him was being destroyed in front of his very eyes.

Doing- there was _nothing_ he could do but lash against his bonds which pinned him to the ground. Couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't feel. His own perforated flesh was numb, or at least it was when compared to the empathy from watching his guardian angel be eviscerated so cruelly.

Things moved around him, and the next thing he knew he was bearing her limp form in his arms. The moment of his escape lost in the blind haze of suffering. Kneeling on the razed remains of his home, her blood mingling with his own as it soaked into his clothes and was absorbed by the Earth from which new life would flourish.

" **What exactly was she, to you?** " the perpetrator, aptly named 'Pain' watched with morbid interest, trying to understand the human interaction he was seeing. What sort of love was this that could inspire such vindictiveness and jealousy? " **Was your resistance worth her death?** "

"Just shut your trap for one minute, would you?" Naruto asked quietly, stroking Ruby's hair as he'd always longed to do, but never taken the chance for some reason until now. Repaying the favor she'd done him in the all too real world of the Tsukuyomi. Why was he the one always getting saved?

"It's- It's fine, N-Naruto." The eyes which he'd once thought of as so dead looking now winced, causing another wracking pang of guilt to be sent through his body. "You know… this is the best way." It did solve one prevailing problem, but not in the way he'd ever imagined or wished. "It's o-okay. I'm expendable."

"Not to me, you're not." Gripping her ever so much tighter as she threatened to slip from his grasp.

"Stop." She reached up with what strength her unknown body contained to cup his whiskered cheek. "This isn't- the end, and you know it."

"Promise?" No effort was made to stifle the tears, even though he knew what she said was correct.

"Do you… really need to ask that?"

"Is it wrong for me to want to keep hearing your voice?"

She tried to laugh, but it only served to wrack her body with pain yet again, wounds flowing even more freely now than before.

"Shh, shh." He hushed her, rocking gently, shifting her in his arms to be closer to his chest so he could feel her fading heartbeat. "I'm sorry. You don't need to say anything. Just- hang on a little while longer."

"Naruto." The whisper was barely audible, so he leaned closer to where their foreheads met. "I'll never leave. I'll be there whenever you close your eyes."

Her own eyes faded then, one closing in an assuring wink. And then, whatever soul inhabited Bara-Ruby's body departed, leaving only a lifeless husk which he set back on the ground. Slowly he stood up amidst the lake of bodily essence which had formed at his feet.

" **What I strive is to take away all sadness. Is that not what she would have wanted?** "

All other threats and logic had failed to get through to this stubborn boy, and the orange-haired Pain assured himself that he was taking advantage of the momentary vulnerability. Not because he found sympathy with those tears shed for a loved one. He was long passed being worthy of having such emotion.

"You're mistaken." Naruto's fist clenched around the knurled handle of his scythe, _Radiant Thorn_ , the impeccably sharp scalloped edge catching the last vestiges of sunlight and winking in Pain's face. "These aren't tears of sadness, they're of _joy_."

Having killed so many people- so many, many people- Pain thought he had seen all the possible reactions to death. Never one so conflicting as this, however, and he wondered not for the first time that day whether Naruto Uzumaki was truly mad.

Only surpassed by wondering if he himself was hallucinating as the body of the girl who'd suddenly interjected herself in their fight at the last moment, was now disappearing just as mysteriously.

" **What… is this?** "

In that shallow ocean of blood, the body of Bara-Ruby began to sink, being absorbed, or else decomposing into liquid indistinguishable from that bodily essence and vanishing from sight.

" **Another clone? No, something else.** "

"I told you the first time. Seems I'm not the only one who needs things repeated, huh?" Through his tears, the smile which he perpetually wore blossomed once again. "You knock us down, we get back up. You tell us we can't, we show you we can."

At the same time the Earth began to drink greedily from the libations it was given, the crimson aura spawned once again around Naruto and skimmed off some of the droplets from the surface, lifting them weightlessly into the air to be haloed around him like Saturn's rings.

"You cut us down, we return to the earth to grow again!"

The ring and the Chakra exploded outward in an Aurora of crimson, showing Pain for the first time in a long time, the reality of a rose-colored world.

" **Banshō Ten'in!"**

A wall of gravity like a gale force wind rippled his whiskered cheeks and made waves in the remaining pool of blood. But it did not succeed in knocking him back as he latched himself to the ground with his hooked blade. Incredibly, hand over hand taking a few steps forward to Pain's visible shock.

" **Impossible!** "

"That's the whole point!"

When the attack had abruptly shut off, it caused Naruto's conserved effort to slingshot him forward at the stunned immobile Akatsuki, allowing the blond boy to deliver a headbutt whose crack resonated all throughout the hollow crater they battled in.

The attack didn't keep either of them staggered for long, and both returned to the battle with a fervor and desperation which had been one-sided before, now spread to both combatants. Pain himself forgot that this was not his real body. It was his friend's, Yahiko's. And the purpose… was that his as well? Which one was the puppet and which the master?

Naruto had no such qualms.

This Naruto, forged in battle and quenched upon the girl's blood was a different man. One more complete than what he'd faced before. Just as Doubt had died and returned to its owner, confidence had been born anew in this world.

There was no holding back.

For the first time, Pain felt as if he might lose.

This… worried him? No, at that point he was beyond worry, and had plunged over that edge he'd regarded at a distance for so long. Far away, his real body cracked into a manic grin. For what could be more humorous than everything he'd worked for these long years suddenly coming undone?

" **Is this not glorious, Naruto-kun?** " On the retreat, weaving in and out of the massive hands intertwining themselves in a sunset tapestry over his head. " **Two epitomes of ideology, pitted against one another to decide which will influence the Fate of humanity.** " So long without a true challenge to his authority, all other threats remained idle until they became unreal.

"…Which one of us is nuts again?"

The rage-infused energy burbled underneath this quiescent remark as he sank into an even deeper and more animalistic stance, claw-like blade suspended behind in one of the three tails, thus leaving his hands free for translucent razors to sprout jaggedly from his fingernails.

" **The line between madman and genius is only defined by history.** " The man declared with a shrug, the ground following his movements to heave large mounds which deflected the remaining Chakra arms. " **And I will be the only one left to write it.** "

The calm demeanor was temporarily broken when Naruto suddenly appeared in front of him with claws gnashing on twin Chakra rods held in defense. Pain looked up to the shrouded Jinchῡriki with eyes as wide as Venus through a telescope and a grin which pulled taught against the deceased flesh. Two of the tails shot up to wrap around his arms, exposing him wide to the third bearing the scythe which meant to quarter him. An almighty push shoved Naruto and his extra appendages away, but the boy was quick to right himself using those flailing tails as anchors. Stretching against his flight, they again hurled him back into the battle.

He plowed into a dome of earth which had suddenly swelled in front of him. Instead of cracking, the earth absorbed him like putty. And amidst his already searing flesh, it was impossible to notice the additional heat baking the clay and sealing him in until it was too late.

Outside, Pain regarded the mound apprehensively, as even blind, he knew what was happening inside the ground all the same. Predictable when the dirt erupted like a souffle, spewing half-baked earth every which way. Predictable when the demon child would not simply let himself be entombed without an epitaph.

"Don't you know…" Naruto all but whispered as he flew at Pain. " _ **…Truth happens whether you see it or not!**_ "

Drawing on the severed sewer pipes still mired beneath the ground, Pain collected the foul water and shot it in a stream to cool the living inferno. Putrid steam hissed in an obscuring fog which Naruto plowed through blindly, finding only penetrating rods greeting him on the other side. With his tail, he cut those needles stabbing him at the quick, and with a flex of his muscles sent them hurtling in random directions, all of which he scanned for any signs of the Akatsuki leader.

" **Fall.** "

Too late as he located the voice above him, the invisible weight bearing down on his shoulders and pressing him further into the ground.

" **Fall.** "

A solid block of earth this time, further driving him like a nail into the ground and burying him up to the neck in rubble.

" **Fall.** "

A blast of air to blow away the dust, enough even to ebb the bloody flames on his body to but a flicker.

" **Why won't you fall?!** "

Reigniting that obstinate wick which was Naruto's body refusing to bend the knee, a grand fireball burned in the pit recently created by the successive elemental jutsu.

The blaze burned energetically and bright, lighting up the landscape falling into an early night. Watching with an exhausted detachment, the avatar of Pain considered what would be left of his target, whether he would even be able to recognize the husk from another one of the boy's ingenious clones.

 _Life is never ending Pain, why invite more of it? Why refuse to lay down when all humans do eventually?_

"Because people like him always have others picking him back up."

Blinking into the fire, wondering if the other Uzumaki had contaminated him with his madness. The flames mocking him with a youthful shadow puppet propped up on the hill behind.

"You don't need to speak the words, I can see it written in your eyes. This is what really is. What he tried to get me to understand. Nothing more, nothing less."

" **I see…** "

The curtain of fire and smoke slowly parted, revealing more of that unassailable truth and the dancing scarlet eyes that went with it. Those complex pinwheels standing like a formal herald, unhindered by the total devastation surrounding it.

 _Swords cut him not, nor may fire burn him. Waters wet him not, nor dry winds parch. He may not be cut nor burned nor wet nor withered; he is eternal, all-present, firm, unshaken, everlasting. He is called unmanifest, unimaginable, unchanging; therefore, knowing him thus, O Sage, deign not to grieve!_

" **It's over then.** "

Sasuke nodded grimly, tightening his grip on his friend who clung to him stiffly even while fading in and out of consciousness. Whether it be Naruto's fight with Pain, Sasuke's with his brother, or the grand Battle for Konoha in general, it was over. Night had fallen, the fires died out, and it was time to lay down and go to sleep.

" **How?** " Arms limp by his sides as he turned to face the last Uchiha. " **How do you exist in the cycle of hatred yet claim to support him?** "

Sasuke tightened his arm around his friend like he was the buoy keeping him above water. Funny how even now he was still the one supporting the other.

"I just do."

Parsing over the eye-opening fight he'd just walked away from, Sasuke reflected on how that description was both literal and figurative.

"Thanks to him, I was not so blinded by my hatred to see the truth when it was presented to me. This act of faith repaid, I am more than happy to do it again." Standing a little taller, he hiked the other boy more onto his shoulder. "And again, and again, and again, and again! As many times as he gets knocked down, I'll help him get back to his feet because I know he'll do the same. All it takes is a little bit of trust, to see that it is returned tenfold! You'd have to be insane _not_ to believe in that kind of attitude!"

"I see," Reiterating it to himself, Pain looked to the body draped over the dark-haired boy's soot-covered shoulder. "Just a… little bit." During the war for his own home, he gave, and he gave, and he gave, receiving only pain in return until there was nothing left of him or his cause. He, like so many, had been a slave to that entropy, that losing proposition. What would it cost him to invest in this boy who seemed outside the zero-sum game?

In the end, no matter how much, it was a meager amount in comparison.

"You can tell him…" The almost-normal voice roused Sasuke's attention as well as stirred two half-lidded oceans of peace which lapped at his soul. "…I will give freely of my belief one last time. If he thinks that he can make this world better through that indominable spirit, I will entrust him with that goal, and give him a clean slate for which to start."

Both sets of eyes on that hill silently watched the body of Pain slowly dull and crumple within its voluminous robes during a time-lapse which spanned a hundred centuries. A once-polychrome statue losing its gilded coat, paint stripped away and stone crumbling to dust.

Dust to dust.

And then all was quiet and still in the remains of the Village which had become a tomb. It was broken with a grunt as Sasuke lowered himself and his companion down to the disturbed ground, that sledgehammer named fatigue knocking at the door. With what energy he had left, he propped the other boy up against his back, head lolling on his shoulder so that they could both look at the newly arrived stars and not the lonely graves which surrounded them.

"That's it then."

Those were the only words he could say, and he didn't even know if his blond companion was awake to hear them. It was the end of his speech, the end of the Akatsuki, the end of his revenge, the end of Konoha and all the lives of their friends. Maybe some had survived by staying far out to the peripheries of the fight, but it was still a bittersweet evening which couldn't see that silver lining through the darkness.

Spots of wetness rolled down his cheeks as he stared up at the sky to see if it was raining. Only being greeted by clear night sky and the stars' mute waves. One of those winking lights shot across the night sky, but he was not about to put his faith in the heavens.

As he watched on, there came another. And another. Bigger and brighter than any he'd seen before- more than he doubted anyone had seen before. The night sky lit up with the multitude of streaks all cascading down on their heads.

A celestial bombardment come to end them? Was this the final trick Pain had up his sleeve? It no longer mattered as neither could lift a finger. Just sit there and gaze at the pretty lights which danced across the unfettered heavens in a rainbow of colors like a blanket made of the Northern Lights come to put them to bed.

"Hey, you see that, Naruto?" There was no response from his back, and barely even the gentle swelling which told him there was life. "It seems like we won. You succeeded. It truly has become a beautiful world, hasn't it?"

* * *

Scarlet eyes dimmed to mere obsidian and shut moments before the azure, which held on long enough to see those gamboling lights dive down to earth and bathe the world in a new dawn.

It was a surprise when her eyes opened to a gentle glow filtering through the window. It was a surprise when her eyes opened at all, and she breathed deep the perfumed air made from the smell of books, sweat, soap, dirty laundry and weapon oil.

She was home.

The deep breath was a surprise to the others who had drifted off sometime amidst the tumultuous night. The exhaustion from watching their youngest writhe and convulse without any means to comfort her finally overcoming them when at last her body fell deathly still upon the dormitory floor.

Now all four were awake, yet that did little to reinforce peace of mind when the girl began to sob without end.

Having held her sister throughout the unconscious spasms, it was no more difficult for Yang to corral her now as wild tremors wracked her body. No easier to ignore the plaintive moans nor the wailing of despair which sought to rend their hearts in two. Despite being ignorant to the cause, it was impossible not to empathize with the primitive noise, like a wolf howling to the moon which thrummed a chord in the soul.

As it happened during the night, so too did this sorrowful episode come to an end. The sun by then fully crested over the mountain peaks which ringed Vale, and the warm light seeking to dry the spilt tears and thaw the frozen heart. It was probably late in the morning, though none had much thought to spare for classes they may or may not have been missing.

"It's going to be alright." The elder sister cooed at last, stroking the unkempt raven hair of the inconsolable girl.

A mute nod of acknowledgment nuzzled into her tear-stained shoulder, and a final shiver reverberated through their huddled bodies.

"It's not the end." She mumbled into that damp crook, barely audible to the other two in the room. "It's not. It can't be."

Yang just nodded in blind agreement to something she was not quite sure of. Not knowing made little difference, as right now the only thing of importance was easing her sister's burden whether it be real or imagined.

The pain was real, and that was all that mattered.

* * *

The rest of the morning would pass without disturbance, allowing Ruby to calm down enough to divulge what had transpired. Not everything, for she didn't want- couldn't have their pity. It was beyond their comprehension, as it was beyond their ability to do anything about it.

They did all they could, more than she ever would have guessed by keeping her company on that cold floor all night long. The thought almost brought another bout of tears to her eyes as she considered just how lucky she was to have found people who would stand by her, even as Naruto might have lost all his.

Might and could be, most likely, and the barest of chances. All those dwelt in the realms of the unknown, that world of thought. She didn't want to think on that just yet, didn't want to consider that the next time she closed her eyes might be that last, big sleep.

Which was why she had to press forward. Do as much as she could now while she still had the chance, and not worry about the things she could not change. Saying as much to her teammates who wanted her to get checked out by the nurse, assuring them that her personal problems should not drag the team down.

Whatever their objections, her team recognized the fact that their captain needed more support than even they could give her. She needed to be around people, needed a distraction.

Since the morning classes had all but come and gone, the four staggered into the lunchroom a few minutes early and sat down while streams of teenagers filtered in over the course of minutes, shooting the worn-out girls looks of curiosity that were surreptitious enough to ignore. Each had chosen an indulgence for their first meal, and each merely looked at it as unappetizingly as the plates themselves.

"Woah… what happened? Did somebody die?"

Nora felt the chill of none less than six frigid sets of eyes for her tactless comment. The woman herself clueless as she once again counted the number of faces present to see that they had their full contingent.

"You might say that…"

Ruby did not go into details with even her team, so she revealed even less here. What little she said was enough for the normally unflappable girl to gain a greenish hue of mortification.

"Was it… _him_?" Jaune cautiously probed as he slowly sat down across from the bastion of girls surrounding their captain.

Whether wise or not, Ruby had expanded more on her 'condition' when the boy had asked. Where others like Glynda had failed to listen, Jaune had expressed a childlike curiosity that had been the outlook she had been seeking for so long.

Ruby had no answer for him, and that bothered her.

As she had often dreamt of being a strong and powerful ninja like her Other, so too had Jaune found something fantastical in his fellow blond. Inspiration, certainly. A fascination that bordered on worship as he was regaled with tales of his accomplishments. Her modesty would not let Ruby become envious, and she was simply glad to have someone to confess these things to at last. Naruto had Tenten, so it was only fair that she be afforded the same opportunity.

Correction: Naruto _had_ Tenten. The feeling of her cold body still lingered on fingertips which had never once graced that callused skin. Yet another reason she could not show weakness, for if Naruto was still alive after Pain's final act, then she would have to be strong for the both of them.

And if by some chance he was not, well, then she would have to be twice as strong, now wouldn't she? For even with the body gone, there was some chance that his spirit would piggyback with her for the rest of her days. For some, a haunting thought. For her, a comfort.

"Well, if you want to talk about it…"

The offer hung there, and she shook her head. Albeit with a moderately strained smile.

"Maybe later. Right now, I just want to catch up on all I missed." Walking a mile in another's shoes was sometimes the best you could do, it was a luxury to be able to walk side by side with someone through the road of life.

"I'm afraid not that much interesting happened this morning." The captain of JNPR looked to his subordinates for help only to find them either aloof or reluctant.

"Doesn't matter." Beseeching. "Just- anything. Doesn't have to be today, or yesterday, last week. Can you- can you just tell me about yourselves? I just want to know- to listen."

Impossible to miss the imploring tone, the blond once more conferred amongst his teammates who had been equally caught off guard by the odd request.

"A-alright."

Ruby's own weary team perked up and regarded the speaker. Surprised to see the redhead champion of JNPR volunteer, considering the rivalry which had been seemingly evolving between the two.

"W-what would you like to hear?"

Putting aside whatever differences they shared- real or imagined, regardless Pyrrha was nervous under the intensive stare she was receiving from the younger girl. Almost dipping her sleeves into the untouched strawberry shortcake, Ruby provided the woman with her undivided attention.

"Everything." She declared candidly. "Although… maybe just a funny story to start."

Visibly thinking for a moment with brow wrinkled, eventually Pyrrha emerged with a welcoming smile and words on her lips.

"I remember, this one time, way before my first tournament…"

An hour for lunch would hardly be enough, but Ruby would recount every last one of those 3,600 seconds to herself over and over again. Committing the proceedings to memory as best she could, as if she were the personal memory keeper of all of Remnant.

There was nothing to say that she wasn't, and nothing to keep the world from caving in around them like it had in Konoha. If that were to happen, she didn't want there to be any regrets, any words left unspoken and any bitterness left uninterred. In one way or another, these stories would survive through her, of that she was convinced.

For stories are immortal.

* * *

"Are you sure you're alright?"

That question had been asked so many times and the response had been the same rolling of the eyes, that Ruby was surprised she was still not dizzy.

"Shouldn't I be asking you the same question?"

That comment was more provocative than she intended. But the truth was that she wasn't- alright that is. She was tired. She hadn't dared sneak in any shuteye before they left that night. For there was something else that she feared even more than alienating Blake, and that was closing her eyes.

The other Ruby was dead, and that splinter had returned to her. Making her feel more complete than she had in a long time, though also reinstating those burdensome doubts to her conscience. It became impossible not to think of the other world and what had occurred, impossible to stop the questions from besieging her psyche.

Were Jiraiya and Tsunade alright? Was _anyone_ left alive? Would Konoha manage to pick itself back up? What was that blinding light that they had seen in those final moments? What did any of it mean for her?

She wasn't ready to find out, wasn't ready to say goodbye to her friends and comrades just yet. Hence, she doped herself up throughout the day with enough sugar to give any normal human diabetes, and had even resorted to that previously forbidden commodity: caffeine.

Neither of them had liked coffee. The thrill of stealing a sip here and there from her father's cup in the past had offset the offensively bitter taste. No such handicap existed when she'd poured herself a cup post-lunch. It was black, bitter, gritty, and a little sour. The dregs from a pot which had been sitting on the burner all day. Drinking it was like a punishment, but also helped her forget the other torture her body was going through.

Come to think of it, that all could go a long way to explaining why she felt so jittery and short-tempered.

"I'm sorry." She murmured an apology, not wanting things to end on a bad note.

Blake, however, was more spooked than upset. Already on edge herself after being all but forced to come clean about her Faunus heritage.

Being presented with another mission from their headmaster met with almost universal refusal- bar one. Ruby herself was adamant about seeing what she maintained as her 'duty' to the bitter end, whether or not this thought was shared by her team.

It was little wonder they weren't about to let her go it alone.

Already knowing what they would decide to do made Ruby feel a little guilty. Not least because she knew Blake would be all but forced into a confession.

Refusing to go while the others did would be too suspicious, not to mention a good person like Blake wouldn't be able just send them to the dogs like that (no pun intended).

Telling the truth would be hard, but no worse than if they were to find out from someone else. Especially one of her former comrades.

Anyone could have predicted Weiss's reaction. Only, no one did. Perhaps being already exposed to the baffling and incredulous realities of the world had immured her to future surprises. Perhaps she was just bottling it in.

For better or worse, it got them to where they were.

"It-it's alright." Blake shrugged it off to double down at the task at hand. There was plenty of reasons why the younger girl should be snippy, and Blake owed her at least that.

"We're all nervous." Her captain let out a long breath through her nose. "Circumstances aside, this is a lot bigger than the other things we've had to do, and I'll admit that I'm a little anxious."

Underneath the bow, cat ears swiveled towards this admission. To her chagrin, the girl noticed and chuckled at the display.

"At least one good thing came out of it. I hope you don't get angry with me, but I'm glad that you told us about being a Faunus. It's nice to admit to it before…" Her jaw closed with a snap, not liking whatever was next coming out of her mouth.

"I guess you're right." Blake admitted, missing half the story behind her leader's words. "I didn't want to keep it a secret forever. Really. I just…"

"Never found the right time?"

"Yeah…" They both chuckled humorlessly, voices reverberating on the brick walls of the alley.

"The only right time is before it's too late." Ruby whispered to herself, forgetting about her teammate's extraordinary hearing. Blake didn't reveal that she heard, merely filing away this anecdote under the continuing mystery that was her leader, and perhaps for her own future reference.

Walking in semi-uncomfortable silence the rest of the way, the two tried to keep an air or professionalism and alertness if only to fool themselves and not the very paranoid organization they were trying to sneak into. The natural Faunus held a distinct advantage in this regard, though her own position was rife with its own danger should anyone recognize her.

"Here."

With that line of reasoning, she produced two of the iconic Grimm-masks which she had dug out of a trunk of keepsakes, handing one to Ruby. Their bone-whiteness more ivory than classroom specimen, and their style a few years out of date by this point. They would suffice to hide their identity all the same. In the same vein, she removed her omnipresent bow to set free her undeniably Faunus trait. Speaking of…

"I really have a bad feeling about this."

The mask did nothing to hide Blake's expression of dubiousness which extended even to the way she swayed her hips like a flighty stray, ready to dash at a moment's notice.

"I'm telling you, it will be fine. This disguise is perfect." Confidence was distinctly lacking in this statement, but it was far too late to back out now.

"I'm almost afraid to ask where you got the pieces to make that." Blake's uncertainty transmuted to a morbid curiosity as she regarded the all-too-real fox tail swishing gaily behind her leader.

"Simple. It was part of Yang's Halloween costume a few years ago." Not bothering to mention that it lacked some of the more 'risqué' parts (which still wouldn't have fit her anyway).

Knowing their teammate, Blake got the rest of the picture regardless. She was simply busy trying to figure out whether to be offended that people would dress up as Faunus or impressed.

"The tail seems very… lifelike." Noting the sinuous movements as it swished back and forth.

"Heh, heh, yeah…" Lost in her own bout of irony, as that Halloween was the year Naruto actually found out about his other 'partner', Ruby didn't immediately pick up on Blake's comment.

"Dad can be pretty… supportive at times..."

Recalling how after a decidedly heated argument, Tai Yang finally allowed his daughter to dress up as a 'fox' for the night. The words thrown around didn't dissuade him from the annual tradition of family costume making. And by golly, if his daughter was going to be a fox, she was going to be the best darn fox ever! Using all of his weapon-making skills along with most of the spare change in his pocket sacrificed to the swear jar, the father of Yang Xiao Long could boast to have the most elaborate costume on the whole island of Patch. For all the varying degrees of good that was.

After this explanation, Blake just let out a light chuckle and a small shake of the head. It wasn't something she could readily imagine or even understand. Yet it was normal, wasn't it? That's what it was like having siblings, not to mention being human. Being so different from her own life didn't make it worse. In fact, in some ways she probably envied the neurotic red riding hood (the garment itself absent for the sake of anonymity).

"There it is."

Those good thoughts shoved aside for now, attitudes stripped bare like the paint on the walls from three scratches like claw marks. The calling card of the White Fang. They had passed the point of no return, so close they could hear the hushed whispers like church mice skittering in and out of the alley.

Fingering the parallel marks, Blake turned back to see her leader dawn the venetian mask at last, drawing back her hands to reveal a grin which matched her feigned animal trait.

"Let's party."

* * *

Less a party, and more a city council meeting. There were funerals which proved livelier affairs, and the volumes of Faunus come to pay their respects were hushed to near silence amidst the cavernous enclosure. Every whisper reverberated off the concave ceiling, light from street lamps filtering in through hastily blacked-out windows like stained glass, all of which gave it an almost ecclesiastical feeling. As if they were attending church in memorial.

"Good evening, my fellow Faunus!" A hulking man orated from his pulpit at the front, a singular light highlighting him and casting the other forms on the stage into flittering shadows. "Can we please have all new members move over to the right side of the room."

Like will-less zombies they obeyed. Though unlike the living dead, Ruby's heart was on overdrive, already provoked by this development. She tried to ground herself in the familiarity of the venue, one warehouse the same as he next. She tried to find comfort in the proximity of her teammate, hand groping out to lash the two of them together amidst the shuffling tide.

There was no comfort to be found, as Blake's hand was as clammy and stiff as her own. Attention fixated upon the stage with her wide eyes which could penetrate that darkness. Ruby contemplated asking what the matter was, but hesitated. Not for the furtive listeners around them, but for her sister and partner who were overhearing via the hidden microphone. She did not want to worry them over nothing.

She hoped it was nothing.

"No, why him….?"

The distracted whisper did nothing to reinforce her already wavering confidence. Torn between heeding her instinct or her experience, she wondered if they should make their escape while they still had a chance in all this movement, or if they should hold and try to carry out their mission.

By the time she'd passed this thought back and forth it was too late because the crowds had already stilled. It was already too late to wish she had Yang or Weiss with her instead, because they had already decided the two of them were too recognizable in present company. It was too late to ask for advice, because she had already lost everyone she could ask.

Regrets were never her thing, but maybe she should have considered seeking out Glynda. One more confidant couldn't have hurt.

Doubts and regrets could both be postponed for later- to ensure that there _would be_ a later. Squeezing her hand in determination, she plucked the both of them out of their ennui and back into the moment, training two very different perceptions back onto the stage. One set of eyes fixated on the sever young man making his way to the forefront, the other on the undulating shadow near the back. Neither on the words from the muscle-bound lieutenant and his presentation.

"Brothers and sisters…"

The newcomer's words were unaided by any amplification and many decibels quieter than the imposing White Fang officer. Neither did it matter, as the antsy crowd was immediately cowed to silent reverence. To the two interlopers, the voice was a thumb looming over their heads to squash them.

"I thank you for your patience. I mean not just for this evening, but for the nights of years- decades previous in which you all have endured under the yoke of human oppression. I am here tonight, not only to dispel the rumors of our organization's collaboration with human elements, but to offer an even greater relief to all those who have struggle alongside your kin. Even for those just joining us officially tonight, we welcome you to this with open arms."

His words were as detached Pain's, his actions reminiscent of an actor. Or maybe more appropriately, a puppet. This inhumanity- which had nothing to do with the Faunus horns jutting from underneath that bloodshot do, sickened and provoked the masquerading girl. His words were saturated with dramatic irony, lauding it over the audience much as Ozpin often did. Though with scant the subtlety and none of the charm like the older man.

"-For you have always been with us, whether or not you've realized it. We are all one, greater thing. Not only a race, but one heart, one mind." His almost religious zeal was real though, animatedly striding up and down the stage in the throes of passion, hand oscillating between clutching his heart and grasping at some unknown object far out into space.

He pivoted on his heel, staring out into the crowd, and Blake twitched as he appeared to seek the two of them out of the hordes. Maybe she was what he was searching for?

"…This is what makes us better than humans, who are all parasites feeding off one another. This form of life was doomed from the start, and it is finally time that they realize their place in the food chain."

The man who needed no introduction waved a magic hand much as the headmaster had done, influencing events around him with but a flick of the wrist. Other lights on stage flashed on, and Ruby was harkened back to the first time she met Torchwick- deciding that such dramatism never boded well.

"The end of humanity was always going to be by their own hand. Now, it is nigh."

The yellowing lights danced off the buff surfaces, sparkling reflection picking out the tiniest of blemishes in its construction but obscuring the whole of the hulking mass beneath a shroud of light. The monstrosity- whatever it was- reminded her again of Asura Path, and she couldn't help the fresh trauma from regurgitating into her head. She fell to a knee among the cover of a hundred awestruck bodies.

And behind, that undulating shadow reveled in the girl's palpable suffering. Segmented limb flitting back and forth like a giant tongue, tasting his victim's fear.

Swelling with pride, the redhead Taurus presented himself a showman in front of his masterpiece, ready to take credit for something he'd been coerced into. Equally soused with the adoration and bewilderment.

"Years of meticulous preparation and planning have yielded more fruit than we could have ever anticipated. The years in which we were yearning for something more- something to slate our natural hunger for justice and equality is finally over. All we have to do is reach out and take it. Now, we will be the ones who want for nothing! We shall be the ones to feast on their fear!"

Fear was a poor meal, it never satiated for long and always left one yearning for the next serving. But in that course, it was overwhelming in its potency, the incidents of the past fueling that recurring gag-reflex.

"Ruby- we have to get out of here."

Her leader nodded, trying to lift herself back to standing in between the bodies boxing her in. The Faunus recruits too enticed with what was going on stage to pay much attention to the commotion within themselves.

Not so with the main stage, which could clearly see those two which stuck up like a pair of nails, ready to be smote.

Whilst helping her leader overcome the recent past, Blake's own caught up to her as she happened to look up. Past the mirrored concealment, two pairs of eyes interlocked.

'Blake.' She saw Adam mouth her name, torn between relief and upset.

There was no pause in which to contemplate the look that she herself was wearing, only a blink that saw her disappear into the background, dragging the shell-shocked Ruby with her. They had already seen more than enough.

Too much, perhaps, as the beings around them had become aware of their otherness. Where once there was a sea of potentially friendly persons behind flimsy masks, now there was only the facelessness of a river Styx, transformed by a command onstage. Groping hands prevented them from spiriting away and slowly started to drag them back into the mire, trying to separate their desperate grasp.

"Ruby!" She foolishly shouted her captain's name- for all the good and the bad it would have done under the suddenly swelling roar of commotion.

In that instance, fear overrode prudence. Fear would have even caused Blake to draw her weapon against her kin- if she'd had _Gambol Shroud_ at all. Fear consumed her, not only for what was happening to them, but what would become of the world if they should fail to get the word out. Shame at the once proud organization- shame with herself could come later, if at all.

Not so with Ruby. For her, the time for action was a polarizing moment, and there was no fear or other extraneous emotion at all. No fear, no doubt, no second thoughts. There was only action, and inaction.

Suddenly those clawing restraints meant nothing- touched nothing as she slipped through them like moonlight towards her teammate who was quickly being swallowed up by the kelp-like limbs. Latching on to that sweaty and immaculately manicured hand they both became nothing, flittering through solidus and reality alike, stumbling into a heap upon that weather-worn roof.

"W-what was that?" Catching her breath while trying not puke, Ruby noted that Blake's reaction was familiar in a nostalgic way.

"Better question: what was _**that**_?" Jabbing the hand which wasn't trying to still her thumping heart, Ruby gestured to the metallic construct that they had witnessed on stage.

The question forced Blake into the mission at hand, mind racing to corral dozens of thoughts at once, including the knowledge that they had not entirely escaped to safety.

"I think… that was one of Atlas's newest weapons."

Weiss and Yang's timely arrival was less comforting than they would have hoped.

"Are you two alright?" Lowering their guards as the two partners bounded their way over to them, relief only coming with weapons back in both their hands. "We caught most of that, even though the video feed was kind of fuzzy. What in Remnant happened back th-?"

Knocked for six- quite literally when her sister violently elbowed her across the rooftop, Yang had no chance to catch her wits nor her breath as that falling-up image of Ruby was consumed in a hailstorm of bullets.

"No!"

Weiss voiced her thoughts as the others flung themselves aside as more patches of the corrugated rooftop opened up in calderas of molten lead. The tinny rattling of automatic fire drowned out her shouts of denial along with any thoughts of flight as the blonde picked herself up in an apoplectic trance.

Ignoring the now sporadic bursts pecking more holes in random streams, Yang plodded forward mechanically to where her sister had been consumed by the initial fusillade, staring down detached at the ripped hole.

"Hey! You there! Put up your hands!"

Without looking or even really hearing, Yang obliged. Her enflamed fist plowed into the grunt's face, shattering his mask along with the flimsy bone underneath.

"Freeze-!"

So far following orders from the few White Fang foot soldiers who had scrambled up to them, Weiss encased the man in a solid block of ice up to his neck, which prevented him from shouldering his rifle.

Yet it did not stop Yang from demolishing the solid construct nor the entrapped man who fell to pieces under her blow no, different from the ice.

Objects, people. There was no difference to Yang as she strode on her path of retribution. Like fear, this vengeance would be short lived, and she would have to face her own responsibility for letting her sister talk her into this SNAFU eventually. For now, she hid her own pain in that of others, uncaring for the reprisals which it might precipitate.

"Yang, stop!"

Thoughtless, blind, deaf and dumb in her eternal rage, she was no different than a beast. Lesser even, as she heeded no instinct when charging at that red-haired bull, looking at her cockeyed and with mild disappointment undermining his sever expression.

Releasing a primordial cry, Yang threw herself at the man in the center of the half-moon formation, emotions pouring into her blazing haymaker while he stood there calmly.

The draw was too fast. Even had she been thinking clearly, no thought would have been possible in the time it took to unsheathe the blade and cut her down. It was too fast to even follow for most anyone, who could only anticipate the movement seconds before the action and dread the consequences.

Where even sight fails though, written words can fill that infinitesimally small space. And where there are words, there is action.

As if she were struck again, Yang was left breathless as her strike was held back by the imposing and unrelenting haft wedged between _Ember Celica's_ gun barrels. But also, jammed between her and that blood-soaked chokuto which she'd never even seen leave its sheath.

"Oh? So you don't just run away." The raging bull snorted.

That Grimm façade still on her face only accentuated her expressionless mask as she effortlessly held back the scathing blade and words. "I have to wonder though, what is your goal here? What is your association with Blake? I can understand her lingering attachments to this organization but cannot fathom how she could drag _humans_ into our business." The young man flexed his muscles, forcing the girl's sneakered feet across the rust-roughed roof. "Then again- maybe I know her less than I thought!"

Before the man had even pulled the trigger on his shotgun-sheath, Ruby had already flicked her sister aside and twirled out of the way of the scattershot which had no range in which to disperse. She came back around with a double-handed swing that sent Adam Taurus back a few paces unexpectedly.

"Who _are_ you?" He questioned the mysterious girl behind the Grimm mask whose only reply was a smile in line with that fake fox-tail still swishing behind her.

His own mask hid widening eyes as their crossed-weapons sparked with more intensity than should have existed- enough to send tingles into his hand and make it numb. Even without sensation in his fingers, the man was skilled enough to parry the consecutive strikes which only seemed to add to the experience of needles and pins slowly spreading up his arm.

Letting out a growl as he ground his teeth and bore it, each exchange gaining him more information on this formidable opponent and increasing his ire which he channeled into his own attacks.

"I see." Snorting out this assessment as his leather shoes tapped their way to the crest of the shallow rooftop, blood-red blade disappearing into its cumbersome sheath as he flexed his half-gloved hands. "Your Semblance is speed, yet you can channel it into your weapon, vibrating the metal to the point where electrons are displaced and generate an electric charge. Interesting."

Each time the grim-faced swordsman flexed his aching fingers, the muscles in Ruby's chest strained with them. No one, not even her teammates gawping at the two of them had thus far figured out that little trick. Where before she would have met this challenge with a giddiness, now there existed only dread as the man opposite from her swept his vision over the four of them like vermin.

"Don't let him distract you!" Long since ditching her own Grimm-mask, Blake targeted another two White Fang and snapped them together with her ribbon. "Adam's ability allows him to gather energy from other people's semblance to fuel his own attack!"

Shooting his former ally a scathing admonishment, Taurus was forced to step off his high ground as the snickering scythe descended from above the shattered moon. His swift draw floundered in a defense, he channeled that frustration into bestial rage which saw his other limbs lash out willy-nilly, shattering the image of a honed warrior.

Forced to retreat by the berserker movements and the subsequent buckshot chasing her, Ruby vanished in a swirl of rose petals to be replaced by her partner, lunging through the cascade with the help of her semblance.

The single breath in which that exchange took place was enough for Adam to regain his composure and sidestep the telegraphed thrust, beating Weiss back with ferocious skill. The disguised heiress was forced back against her will, the man shrugging aside her gravity glyph with sheer brutality and hurling his sheath at her retreat.

It was quickly plucked from the air by a ribbon as black as the night which surrounded them, followed shortly after by a feral-looking Blake who laid into her former companion with both of her blades and all her frustrations.

Weapons knocked against another, Adam tore his spiteful gaze away from the woman to look around and see that his squad was being quickly decimated.

"What are you planning on doing with that thing, Adam?!"

Upon this demand, he turned back to see that her savageness was born out of a blunt fear, so much weaker than his honed hatred.

"Isn't it obvious?" He mocked her as she struggled against his malign passion. "I'm doing what should have been done a long time ago. Surely you can see that. You've wanted the same thing for your whole life, and now we finally have the means to do it."

"By working with Roman Torchwick?"

The waning hope Adam held that Blake could be turned was snuffed out. But in a way, perhaps he could still be considered an optimist.

"Roman is no longer in the picture. We don't have to stoop to working with his kind any longer. Never, as long as we have this power." Underlining his words with a burst of strength, he broke the stalemate and kicked the woman's blade out of her hand, dodging the gunfire which covered her retreat. "Come back to us, Blake. Now is the time for all Faunus to stand together. With our combined might, the corrupt governments run by humans will crumble and fall, erasing the centuries of misdeeds which came before. Please, don't end up on the wrong side of history."

Extending his hand across that impassible divide, Adam tried offering her the proverbial olive branch, only to then be forced to snatch it back or risk losing his arm. He kicked the formerly discarded sheath back into his hand just in time to intercept the return of that excoriating scythe, now completely devoid of any humor.

"All you people are the same…"

Naruto's words flowed through her. That itching doubt which plagued her all throughout the evening had kept her mute until this point, any uplifting speech or snarky comment quelled by the mistrust she placed in herself. But these words were not her own- nor were they even his. They were simply the truth, plucked raw from the world outside.

"… all those lives, all that sadness which came before means nothing to you. You're not doing anything different, you're just trying to drown out the truth by yelling louder." _Crescent Rose_ trembled in her grip as she waged war within herself. Anger struggling to find its way to the surface.

Once a mere static crinkle, now a roaring wave of rosy lightning flew past him as Adam dove to the side.

"What makes you think your way is right?!" The emphasis of her pentameter marked with more arcs of lightning, forcing Taurus onto his back foot and invoking twisting contortions in avoidance. "Why can't you believe in another way?!"

The last crackling blade nicked Adam's mask alongside his head, a tiny dribble of blood dripping from his temple from where the infinitely small particles ripped open his Aura. But the arresting question held him still, and he did not notice.

"And what would you have us do?" Lifting himself to his feet, the man took two stalking steps towards the panting girl. "Try to play nice? We did, and look where it got us. It would be insanity- no, it would be a dishonor to all those who died for our cause if we continued to do what didn't work."

"That doesn't give you the right to tread on other people's dreams…"

The whisper would have been heard if it weren't for the cacophony of shrieking metal giving way to its superior. The hulking golem they had seen down below shot up through the ceiling like paper to land precariously next to Adam.

"Whoever you are…" The cumbersome beast waddled after Adam's heels like a hound, servos whining almost as much as the abused metal underneath its feet. "… no longer matters. None of you can be allowed to leave, now."

That had in fact been exactly what she'd been about to do. Ozpin's orders and her own misgivings notwithstanding, the potential for collateral damage skyrocketed with the emergence of that mechanical monstrosity on the battlefield. There would be no shame in running away, simply scooping up her team and jetting off into the not- sunrise. However, could they really allow this thing to follow them?

And follow them it would, as long as Adam Taurus had caught the scent of Blake, he would stop at nothing to get her. And the beast would be by his side. The White Fang leader was a rabid hound which had at last rediscovered the scent of its pray. Ruby recognized the look exchanged between the two of them at least enough to know this fact.

She struck once again before pleasantries could officially be closed, targeting the scant gaps in the giant's armor which exposed circuitry underneath. But for all the shock her blitzkrieg tactic caused, it was her own as the scythe ricocheted off the chromed surface and echoed throughout the battlefield.

"HYAAA!" Undeterred, she lashed out again with a slightly different angle only to receive the same results.

Ground shifted beneath her feet before the third strike could come home. Her cry cut short by that meddlesome chokutō interdicting between her and her goal.

"I will not allow you to ruin this."

Behind this cliché line was a nervousness that he did well to hide. But as soon as the sounds of other attacks battering the metal juggernaut reached their ears, Adam's scowl deepened. Bobbing under the loud crack of rifle fire, he realized that the shot was never meant for him. It only furthered his ire as Ruby took unhurried aim and leveled another precise round against behemoth.

"You will not ignore me!"

Being constantly prepared to meet the opposition immediately. Such was the principle of Iaidō, Adam knew he had to eradicate this anomaly without delay. Leaping from that low-slung stance, his arm cocked back for a hypersonic slash designed to cut the girl down before she could get off another shot. It did not matter if the dust rounds did no damage, pinging off the heavy armor of the Atlassian Knight. He did not need to believe she was capable in order to defeat her.

It happened immediately.

The killing end of his strike tasted neither flesh nor vengeance. Nor would it ever again, as the tip of the blade known as _Wilt_ lived up to its moniker, floating to the ground beneath his observation. The girl- the reaper loomed behind it, prepared for another harvest. And Adam prepared himself for the end.

What he felt was not the cold sting of metal, but instead the disrespecting pinch as honeycombed rubber tread jerked at the hair between his horns. The foot it was connected to hopping off his head, using it as a springboard. Unceremoniously routed, the lead officer for the White Fang had no witty comeback prepared.

Such was the failing of Iaidō: the art of meeting with the opposition immediately and preparedly.

There was no preparing for Ruby Rose.

When her foot touched back down on the metal roof it became almost liquid, ripples undulating outwards from that petit shoe like a meteorite come crashing down to earth. The shockwave came after, time and space catching up to the girl who meant to surpass them. They billowed outward in a torrential gust which scoured the rust off the roof panels and sent the sparkling bits shooting into the eyes of stunned onlookers.

Behind the roar of wind there had been a droning hum, one which they only noticed when it was no longer there. The fading chord suddenly cutting off, like the snapping of a string.

Crack

Standing there imposing and statuesque. The arm from the Atlassian Knight jerking free and tumbling down like the tip of the chokutō.

Crack

A second string snapped, that pure note stoppered and silenced. In its place, a horrid sound like the crinkling of thin ice as that commendable instrument vibrated and wavered, finally shaking itself to pieces.

Ruby could only stare as her precious weapon erupted in her hands. Once stalwart like an oak, the handle splitting like firewood and the mechanism crumbling like autumn leaves as the seasons passed with nothing to stop it.

The only one not stunned by these turns of events was the pilot of the robotic monster. And despite the loss of one appendage, he pivoted the humanoid at the waist to hook its other battering-ram arm at the crouched girl who gave no indication she noticed the oncoming danger.

"Wake up, Ruby!"

Weiss's words would reach her before her body did, but both would fall short of reaching their leader before that out of control carnival ride turned her into paste.

Everything dies and falls apart in the end. Some things just go sooner than others.

Really, it was a surprise that the roof lasted as long as it did.

It felt like the ground was swept out from beneath her- because it was. She lost the fight with gravity and was forced along for the ride. She had lost quite a bit that day, hadn't she? Everything- from her first friend, to her first creation, to her first sense of accomplishment which came with doing something they thought would make the world a better place. She was all but ready to let that encroaching darkness swallow her and the metal beast.

"Gotcha!"

A hangman at the end of a rope, she stopped falling with a sudden snap and dangled there watching as her disembodied spirit fell into the cavernous room alongside that metallic golem. No pain, nor even any care.

"Would you quit lying around and help me out?!"

Confident that no one was talking to her, Ruby watched as the remains of her weapon intermingled with the useless scrap metal from the ceiling- guess they were both useless scrap, now.

"Come on, heave!"

Slowly- but still too fast for her to protest, she was hauled up back into the open night air and into a pile of earthly sensation. Sweat, blood and relief filled her nostrils as she tried to separate her own limbs from the tangle of others.

"Alright, great, but we can't celebrate just yet, we still have to get out of here and-"

There was a hitch in the declaration and Ruby stopped resisting the bony arm trying to hook under her armpit to lug her to her feet. She moved on her own then, sweeping up all four of them in under a wing of ether. Nothing had been lost yet, not unless she let them take it.

The broken blade stabbed between those silver eyes the moment they looked up to meet him.

"You will never…"

Adam's words were the only ones in that cold night air with the wind blowing in from the ocean. With that breeze the image of the four huntresses vanished, leaving only himself and the devastation to signify that this had been something more than a midsummer night's dream.

It was a nightmare. Surely for him as it was for Ruby who could no longer sustain herself on the chemical crutches. The last dash with her teammates in tow had taken everything she had. Emotionally and physically drained yet again, she paused on an adjacent rooftop, somewhere above the urban jungle smeared across formerly pristine landscape. It was all she could do to hope that they were far enough away. Enough for her to contemplate her life of manic ups and downs.

She just wanted to sleep now. Nothing more, nothing less.

Of all the possible turns her life had taken, none had been so surprising nor unwelcome as this revelation.

To sleep… and what then? What dreams would come to her this time, if at all? An afterlife was not to be contemplated nor desired. Within this graciously long- brutally short life that they had been given, fortune and favors had been used up. Fate no longer owed them anything.

Nothing. Nothing was all she could hope for, and it was still too much. The idea of a dark expanse more oppressive than this darkest hour of the night, a purgatory viler than any of Dante's musings. How did people survive through each slumber? Hours upon hours of waiting amidst a boundless loneliness.

It was time she found out for herself. Time she learned not to fear the Reaper.


	31. Et Al

… **So… back again? Urgh, I really feel crappy for getting your hopes up and falling flat on my face like that, but life does come up. Urgent family matters took me away for another week (the good kind, don't worry), and so now I should be back on to some kind of reasonable writing schedule. Hopefully, barring more writer's block. I know you probably don't care for my excuses, but this is just as an FYI.**

 **And for TMI, the truth is that I had this chapter done like two months ago. I tell you this at the risk of being lynched because I wasn't idle during that time, the moment I got back I reread this chapter and nearly puked. Getting back into the swing, I started really overhauling this chapter. In the end, it would have been easier just scrapping it and writing another because A) Yes, it was that bad (stupid angst mostly) and B) That's what I ended up doing anyway. Keeping mostly the same structure, but totally changing conversations and the overall themes.**

 **I am MUCH happier with how it came out, though, and I hope you are too. I SHOULD be on a more regular schedule for the next month at least, even considering my unofficial day job playing around with sharp bits of metal and things which go boom.**

 **And speaking of overhaul, I'm pretty sure that some of my readers cross over into my other fics, and I just wanted to say that no,** **Life Story Override!** **Is not dead. But it NEEDS a revamp, and I simply haven't gotten around to it. Someday.**

 **Alright. I'm tired of looking at you. Get out of here.**

* * *

 _No one escapes death._

 _A truth above all. Even gods die. Those who are said to rule over it are only given temporary dominion._

 _In this way, death is more than an embodiment. It is one of the building blocks upon which the world, the universe is constructed. It is an ingrained caveat to time. For as surely as things progress, so things must come to an end._

 _The things one does before that time are either important, or they are irrelevant. It simply depends on how you look at it. It simply depends on what you think happens next._

 _What to hope for? Are so-called immortals any wiser for not contemplating this question? Or is this a handicap which prevents them from acknowledging their place in the universe?_

 _The fear of death was not something I had ever contemplated, not before. Capable of dealing with the nothingness, the boredom._

 _That's what I told myself. Perhaps because it was accompanied by the knowledge that someday, eventually, it would end. No punishment was eternal, no seal could last forever._

 _Nothing lasts forever. Mortals even less, a pathetic fraction of eternity._

 _Yet in one form or another they exist throughout the expanse of time and across the width and breath of every world. Where there is matter, unfailingly life follows. Such lowly creatures were incipient even before I was, heretofore they might exist long after I am gone- long after this ball of rock and water withers to dust._

 _For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Infinite in distance and unbound by death._

 _I may have long since forgotten whence these words came. But as long as they are with me, their heart is eternal._

 _No one escapes death, but together, as One, we all do._

* * *

Where he was but fresh upon the world, as a babe he stared Death in the face. Sixteen years hence and already a weary veteran of conflict, death became a looming anticipation.

Naruto would be one of the few alive to know what that felt like. The similarity between knowing nothing and knowing too much, afflictions of a shared ilk.

Similarities and differences between Death and death, where one waited upon him and the other awaited him. One taking what they wanted up front, and the other passing him by telling him:

'Not today'

Forever grateful for that selfish favor, he would still wonder which was worse. That promise of debt haunting him for the rest of his life.

But not today. For today was an excuse to make merry in life as it wormed its way through the cracks yet again. Matter set upon a ball of rock and water, and taking root to reclaim its destiny under that incredibly bright star which would never fail to banish the clouds.

That is of course, until someday it too died.

Nothing to worry about within the lifetimes of Konoha's residents which had been suddenly granted an extension, death postponing that interview a few more days, months, years, decades. Curios to see what life would accomplish with this loan.

Taking this white elephant of a gift, they would proceed to spend it freely for a while. Inebriated carousing round the listing ruins of their home. Libations, once jealously hoarded for a noteworthy occasion would find no better time to be shared freely. Alcohol flowed like the blood of their countrymen not so soon before. The only thing forgotten being the rivalries which they had carried in the previous life, everyone being equal on this new tabula rasa.

Responsibility and rebuilding could come were no storm clouds on the horizon to give worry. And even had there been, they would have mattered so little to the populace who believed they had survived the worst of it.

If only death were the thing to fear.

'Tis alright. They were only human after all.

Himself, not so much. Several aspects of his being straddled that border, prevented him from fully accepting at face value this sudden largess.

Pain- Rather, Uzumaki Nagato, had sacrificed his own life in exchange for this gift. No one would say that this was an even barter. But then again, no one dared question it for fear it was a dream.

For one who had never experienced a dream, maybe it was. How was he expected to know the difference between a dream and an afterlife? Either could walk up to him with a smile and declare itself, and he would have no choice but to accept.

Although, it was far more likely for it to come up and bite him on the ass instead.

"Stealing does not become you, Sempai."

The greeting did not register until the speaker sat down next to him on that low stone wall which at one time used to be a nice private home. Even with the shift of air as he sat down, it did not feel real. The smile on his teammate's face was serene and disturbing, making him feel as if he had stumbled into a third personality which had been lying in wait all this time for the moment Naruto Uzumaki took leave of this world.

"Huh?"

Neji shook his head but was smiling none the less- again, an image that did not mesh well.

"Stoicism looks better on me than you. I suggest you return it as soon as possible."

"You can do that?" Not all that unwilling to accept this new reality, surprise was limited to a slight elevation of eyebrows. It was both a relief and an embarrassment when Neji chuckled at him, though he had long since adapted to this normal and was able to muddle through a reply.

"Yeah, well I think you could do to borrow some of my happiness for a little while longer," His blond teammate shot back with subdued cheek. "I've got more than enough to go around."

"Be that as it may…" The feeling of a hand on his shoulder also managed to feel otherworldly, a stagnant temperature and almost ghostly touch making it seem as if it weren't even there. "You deserve some of that for yourself. You're already sharing for two, are you not?"

"You make it sound like I'm pregnant." Naruto joked with only a minute hint of worry.

"Carrying another life inside of you is a big responsibility." The return to a serious Neji failed to make him any more comfortable.

"…Why 'Sempai'?" He asked, hoping for the normalcy of logic and anything for a distraction.

To his relief, Neji reapplied a neutral expression that was much more accustomed, with just a hint of annoyance to let Naruto know that he wasn't happy with the evasion. But unknowingly to him, this was but added reassurance that he was where he was supposed to be.

"Between the two of you, you have more experience than I do. I think your fight against Pain showed just how much more skilled you are than any of our generation. It is only fitting."

"Hardly…" Grumbled Naruto, still mulling over his actions, and more reproachfully, his inactions during Pain's invasion.

*tack*

"Ow!"

What sounded like an impatient tap on his shoulder had Naruto rubbing his now sore arm- not that it wasn't before, so this pain was really just a fresh puncture to a slowly dulling throb. The annoyingly painful pins and needles now sprinting from his elbow to his collarbone.

"Did you really have to use a Jῡken?" The question replied only by a self-satisfied smirk, subdued as usual.

"I have long since learned that physical means are often the only way to get through to you." Leveling another two fingers like a scorpion's tail above his ally, the Hyūga pressed his point. "You may be my sempai, but I am still a higher rank. Do I need to take further disciplinary measures to convey the point?"

"I'm too tired for this," Naruto lamented, shying away as far as the stone slab would allow him whilst guarding his injured arm. "Can't you just please tell me what you want me to do?"

Lowering his arm and placing it supportively on his knee, Neji looked out to the demolished village alive within all the cracks. Specks of torchlight flickering in his pale gaze.

"Why aren't you out there enjoying yourself?" Not giving the boy time to speak past a moment of contemplating the question, his elder in years only pressed on. "This celebration is for not only you and Sasuke, but for Ruby too."

"I guess…" What was said was true, and he really didn't have a good reason other than a heavy feeling in his gut. "…I just have a lot on my mind."

"So what else is new?"

This was also true, and he had no response even as his mouth opened to protest it. Either seeing this with his uncanny vision or else hearing the audible snap as his jaw closed, Neji continued.

"You don't realize it, but you have always been a little aloof. Distracted." Neji corrected himself, seeing as how he could also fit into the first category. "But always upbeat. Never like this."

"Mmm." He mulled it over, trying to recall just memories from his own life to confirm it but coming up with two parallel sets. "Yeah, s'pose so. I just… have a lot on my mind." Coming back to this default, he knew it felt inadequate, and Neji seemed to think so too if the look on his face was any indication.

"It's about Ruby, then?" The huff which came short and sharp out of nose stung Naruto, as did the resigned shaking of his head. "Of course it is. When is it not? She eats up so much of your attention, I am honestly surprised that you have any left for yourself." Pale eyes opened only to narrow. "No, actually this is what worries me. You focus so much of your attentions on her, that I am forced to wonder where the rest goes. Is it to us, your comrades? To yourself? Do you even know?"

"I will always protect my precious people." The answer was automatic, defensive.

"And just where do you fit into that?"

Between a careless thought and the accompanying action. Between fractions of fractions. Between a slowly setting sun and a nighttime which never seemed to arrive, stars showing up one by one in that horizon which always seemed a darker shade of purple.

"Would you like me to tell you about death?" Speaking to that perpetual day with echoes of revelries fading off forever in the distance. "It is… instantaneous. A blackness like the blink of an eye- no, not blackness, because that implies that there had been color. Not instantaneous because that implies that there was something bordering it. There was… nothing." Starting off calmly, stating this point as if discussing the weather, a frown cut across his mouth like the non-existent wound he now rubbed on his chest.

"Death is nothing. No pure world, no afterlife- just nothing." With wariness Naruto listened, unsure anymore of where the conversation was going, but like a dream- like death, bound to go along for the ride. "Like drowning in water and looking back up to the surface, the only thing which ever seemed real were your final thoughts just floating there. Of course there is no water, no thoughts, no memories of being alive, simply the echo of these things in a timeless space. Short or long, it is…" The setting sun brought a gentle breeze and this was an excuse for the storyteller to end his recount with a shiver. "An eternity. It's not the end, because there is no end."

"Neji…" Naruto didn't know what to say, and the young man made it clear that nothing needed to be said with a weary shake of his head.

"I envy you, you know that?" It was a rhetorical, but still a surprise. "At least I did. Fate seemed to have plans for you, giving you such a gift." As the sky darkened, the pale expression on his face became unreadable and Naruto was forced to wonder just which gift he meant, and perhaps Neji did as well. "The grass is always greener on the other side, so they say. It is true. And so now I wonder if I ever really did at all, or just worshipped the image in my head."

Having died and been reborn, aged another decade in that not-quite-instantaneous eternity, Neji stood up, stretching his old bones with a sigh.

"Death no longer concerns me. It is only what we do until then that I care about. Do you understand me?"

Still sitting, Naruto took in the wraithlike visage of his teammate, pale in the light of a moon that remained full, unbroken. Ethereal, and yet alive, more complete and real than he imagined he would be looking in a mirror.

"Yeah," He wetted dry lips that felt like they hadn't talked in centuries. "I think I do."

Unmistakable in that crystalline light was the twitch of those perfect, white spheres as they picked something out of the darkness behind them, twitching to the slow, cautious movement.

"I hope you do, Naruto. For your sake. I hope you know that I would die with you again in a heartbeat. But I will not live as a ghost in your world any longer."

Noticing the others approach only moments after Neji, Naruto looked on apprehensively as he floated off the other direction- towards the light and the festivities. The Jōnin paused to bow curtly at the gaggle of Chῡnin who were obliged to bow lower, and the tiredly smiling Sanin who materialized out of the blackness.

His master's greeting and the words which came after were mostly lost on him. He moved only when he was told, getting up and following in the middle of a protective diamond made from the Chῡnin. From there he was lead blindly towards a hastily erected tent, decked with the regalia of Konohagakure's highest office.

Lost in the middle of that swirling leaf symbol fluttering high above the leveled ruins, feeling not for the first time that things were rapidly spiraling out of his control.

* * *

"Congratulations, Naruto. You earned it."

It was something tangible at least, the thick canvas and lacquered lamella weighing heavy in his hands and conveying a sense of reality. Coming with it, he knew, was another sort of burden that was not so perceptible nor so comfortably distributed on his shoulders.

But that, he was used to. So immured that it hardly made a difference on top of all the others.

"Thanks, Hōkage-sama."

Accepting the green flak vest with a smile he told himself wasn't forced, under the equally hesitant expressions of his godfather and a woman he might have considered a form of family as well. Who was it that ruined that chance, anyway? Guilty eyes staring at him decried the culprit, but maybe this was just the way adults were supposed to look when they were both happy and sober.

"Naruto, I-"

Wordlessly and with an unusually gentle hand, the blonde seated behind the rough-hewn desk stifled the Toad Sage. This was her stage, and Naruto was grateful for her intervention. Duty was the ideal distraction, killing two birds with one stone.

He didn't want to think over the fact that Jiraiya had kept things from him. It still wasn't clear if he was upset over this, or the fact that he was enlightened to these secrets through the last remaining Akatsuki, Konan, who also found it necessary to bind her life unto his own (like he needed another one of those!).

"The defeat of Uzumaki Nagato has dealt a heavy blow to Akatsuki and its goals." There was a 'but' after this, he could hear it. Did experience have to spoil everything? "However, Jiraiya has suspected for a long time- and it has recently been confirmed by his former student, Konan, that Nagato was not in fact the leader of Akatsuki."

Not such a surprise, but the frown on his face was hardly an act. Knowing it beforehand didn't make it easier to stomach, hearing the reality from more people didn't make the truth any less urgent.

"The information she provided us however, is… suspicious."

"The real leader is Madara Uchiha."

Half-truths and even outright lies might have been easier to some but he was tired of beating around the bush. It was already hard enough to understand one another when speaking face to face. To say nothing of the obscurities, both intentional and otherwise, which seemed to rule his existence.

"The Fox told me."

Okay, so maybe he wasn't above his own half-truths when they made his life easier, or more entertaining. Turning his focus from trying to appear happy, to trying not to snicker at their expressions was a consolation prize considering the nature of the discussion.

Many things had been laid bare upon his revival. So many revelations stacked upon already tenuously balanced knowledge that it felt like if he looked at it sideways his world would come tumbling down. That could have been why he was so distant, walking on eggshells for fear of shattering this dream.

Then again, maybe he was just tired, nothing a Ramen binge and good night's rest wouldn't cure.

Except that sleep would just heap more problems on his plate while he was helpless to do anything about them. No- better to bite this in the bud before it sprouted into something troublesome.

None suspected just how deep the roots already were.

"The Fox told you, huh?"

This knowledge wasn't comforting to them, either.

"Yeah."

There were other things that he had been told too, and wondered if he should share them now. If he might declare what his _god father_ failed to. Hesitating revealed to him again something new: that he could understand the man's motives to hide things a little bit better.

Understanding didn't bring trust, though, merely was a purveyor of it.

"You shouldn't be so trusting of the Fox."

"He's always told me the truth." Naruto defended with a voice which crawled along the floor and looked to snap at ankles.

As was said, understanding doesn't bring trust, doesn't breed forgiveness and certainly doesn't decide either words or actions. Information will not determine how one acts upon it, and seldom is there a single correct reaction. There are however, plenty of wrong ones, and Naruto's emotional retort could be counted among them.

"There is more than one truth, Gaki." This was probably even worse, even if spoken in a tone which emulated understanding. "Just because it has yet to lie doesn't mean that it's telling you the entirety. I don't even mean that it's intentionally trying to mislead you- though that's always a danger no matter what the source- simply that a creature like the Kyῡbi lives in a separate reality to the likes of mortals like us."

Even knowing, even with all the first-hand experience and words of advice that he had been privy to, Naruto could not help but grow incensed. Hearing his master talk down to him on a subject he was so well versed in made him bristle. It was hypocrisy- one of the things Naruto could least stand. Himself being the biggest hypocrite of all.

"It happens all the time in my investigations- no not _those_ ones-" Next to him, Tsunade was giving a stink eye to which he was far too accustomed. "-But you know what? As a metaphor that works just fine." A death glare, also typical. "Imagine the wall of a bathhouse. There's two sides to that wall, men's side and woman's side. Steam might blur things just a little, but you can't just change what you're looking at, and there's always clues which you can choose to ignore. Sure, you can try your hand at finding a niche in that wall to get a peak at the other side and if you're lucky you might succeed."

It went without saying that if you were really lucky you would get away with it, but the perverted Sanin for once didn't mention this, not totally oblivious of what was going on behind that wall in front of him.

"Thing is, a peak is all you'll ever get. You'll never be in that reality, and you'll never, ever be on the other side trying to spy back in." Indulging her eccentric teammate, the Hokage herself mulled over the strangely prophetic words.

"I get it." Whispered Naruto with a fist clenched to his side. "I _**get**_ it." But his voice went unheard, side unseen.

"Do you? Because what I told you isn't true. There aren't two sides, there's **three**." A pair of fingers on one hand were joined by a single on the other. "What matters to most people is the two sides. But then there's someone like me who doesn't give a damn about the rules and sits outside both looking in. And to me, all I want to see is that one side and that's my reality: me and the girls. It may seem stupid and childish because that's what it is. We're all still just children looking out for our own self-interests and the Fox can be no different. I'm not asking you to ignore what it says, just be prepared that truth ain't always what you think it'll be."

Piece said, the Toad Sanin once again relinquished the stage to his former teammate, busy appraising the boy's reaction. Advice was all he had to give at this late a stage, he would admit the lost chance to be a more significant part of the boy's life- if that were to do any good.

"Why did you call me here?"

Knowing, hearing it all. But not listening, not comprehending. Was this to always be the story of humanity?

A cough and a sigh apiece, the two Sanin tagged out.

"Yes, well, before we were sidetracked…" Jiraiya was no longer even paying attention to his teammate's dirty looks. "I for one am glad I don't need to convey the seriousness of the situation to you. From what I understand, the Fox more than anyone has a grudge to bear against Madara, and I hope that it can be persuaded to-"

"He."

"Excuse me?"

It really didn't need to be elaborated as they all knew what-rather whom he meant. Behind the further irritated Hokage, Jiraiya muttered to himself in a low and disappointed tone.

"Gender doesn't apply to the one outside the bathhouse…"

"I _will_ not be interrupted again."

No refutation came, not even a whisper betrayed this immutable command as both old and young held their heads low like scolded dogs.

" **As** I was saying, the **Kyῡbi** has seen fit to inform his host of the dangers that man possesses. If **he** can be persuaded further, that would make the next part easier."

Realizing he was finally meant to speak up, Naruto did so past teeth grinding themselves flat.

"And that would be… what, Hokage-sama?" He asked with palpable defiance.

"Kumo has approached us with an offer to train you." Tsunade continued, ignoring the obvious tantrum for it was this very rebelliousness which earned him the favor. "They have _graciously_ extended the use of their secret Jinchῡriki training grounds. Not a lot is known about it, other than the fact that it is hidden off the coast of the Land of Lightning and is notoriously difficult to find."

"Not to mention _difficult_." Jiraiya added, undeterred by the previous warnings.

"It is likely that it will be even more dangerous than our own Training Ground 44." Admitted Tsunade. "Though perhaps not in the way one might initially think."

He knew this was a divine opportunity. Already having access to the wellspring of energy cordoned inside of him, the time allotted there could be better spent working alongside his others towards that united goal.

But, but, but…

What about the other things he had been burdened with? The things he _knew_ he had to do. Carrying the dreams of not only himself and those other three souls which sometimes meshed within that Venn diagram, but the multitude of others he'd volunteered to shoulder. His friends who demanded nothing of him other than a moment of his attention.

And he failed in even that. Truly, he was the king of all hypocrites.

"Hai, Hōkage-sama."

Truth, however, is sometimes subjective.

* * *

Without a doubt, it was a bitter pill to swallow.

Like the cough medicine which her father forced upon her when she was but a child, her throat had been run so ragged she'd been desperate enough to trust the foul-tasting liquid. She had to trust that things would get better, had to keep going on.

They had to, right?

Continuing to cling to this hope was getting harder and harder to do lately, but it was necessary. She couldn't let Naruto take all these burdens on alone, not when she was always there by his side. Not if she wanted to be something more than a parasite, clinging to his heels.

Was it possible to be anything but? Was this glass half-full attitude truly her own, or something developed to compensate for that other half? It was a matter of which came first, chicken or the egg. And lately, whatever the answer to this enigma, she was beginning to feel like the dependent, the sideshow act.

While he was confronting gods and demons, she was failing to hold her own life in check.

Struggling even now to pick up the pencil, hands shaking continuously in that phantom sensation the moment her scythe- her baby, had rattled itself to pieces. The other hand having to reach over and steady it with a firm grip to prevent the tip from dancing all over the page.

"Are you alright Miss Rose?"

Was that concern or suspicion behind those emerald-green eyes? No- she was not in the Hōkage's tent, but in classroom 325 in Beacon. And that was not the marshal command from a dictator, but the professional inquisition of Glynda Goodwitch who was proctoring the exam in Dr. Oobleck's stead.

-The exam she'd yet to touch beyond a manic scribble which might have been her name.

"…Yes, I'm fine, thanks."

Such a blatant lie that there was hardly any point to it. Considering the words for a minute, wondering why she'd said them in the first place. To fool herself? To assuage the not-so-surreptitious looks from her teammates and friends? To avert the well-meaning concern from the woman in front of her, or the young man always behind her?

It was clear she wasn't doing any of these things.

"Actually," The chair scraping back amongst the gravely quiet room drew even more eyes upon her when she stood up. Yet, she no longer cared. "I don't think I can take this test right now."

Making no further excuse for herself, and without even waiting for approval from Goodwitch, she picked up her bag and skirted her way behind the desks and out of the classroom. Not paying attention to the murmurs following her through the doorway and simply focusing on putting one foot in front of the other, all that she trusted herself to be capable of right then.

When would things start to get better?

* * *

Not wanting to be a burden. Did she ever not feel like this? What had she done to prevent it?

Sitting there with pencil in hand and mimicking the position from earlier today, still she was not able to say anything in her defense. Book open in front of her, stuck on that second page which had remained empty far too long.

What did it say that her sister was the first and only author in this new novel that was supposed to be hers? Where were the expressions of knowledge and experience flowing through her fingertips?

"Hey, there you are."

Speaking of Yang brought her through the doorway of their dorm. If only it were so easy to summon her Other.

"Yeah." She croaked, not looking up. "Here I am."

"We've been looking all over for you." More to her shame, she didn't dare turn to see the concerned expression that must be there. "'Course, should probably have looked here first…" There was a dry chuckling and Ruby could imagine her sister scratching the back of her head in that oh-so familiar way. An image which spanned reality.

Boots clicked up to the back of her chair, and she could feel the soft eyes even before she could see the friendly shadow.

"What's the matter, Ruby? You just walked out on Goodwitch without explaining anything."

"Was she mad?"

Terms like 'mad', 'furious', or even 'apoplectic' paled in comparison to the visceral sensation of that woman's displeasure. Words continuously failed to describe reality, continued to fail her as she tried invoking them to convey her feelings across an infinite divide.

What was she looking for? Everything she had to say felt so insubstantial, yet there was nothing at all upon that paper and nothing in her mind.

Her heart, however, was overflowing.

"No." Her sister's voice, distant, broke through. "It was… strange. She didn't say a thing."

Her existence was that feeble, huh?

"Oh, Ruby." Protecting her from these thoughts, encircling her with arms that could beat off the darkest doubts, she felt the weight of Yang on her shoulders. "Please, tell me what's wrong. Tell me what I can do to help." It wasn't heavy in the least. After all, she was her sister.

"If this is about _Crescent Rose_ ¸ we can skip school tomorrow and go out to look for parts. If this is about school and the test, the others and I will help you study for the next one. If this is about the White Fang, we'll kick their butts. If this is about Blake and Weiss, everything will work itself out, we'll talk to them. If this is about Naruto…

"I'll hear you. I'll listen. Your concerns, your worries, your problems, I'll take them on like I know you do for him. But you have to work with me, work with _**us**_." Arms tightened around her, the only thing keeping her upright save the pencil piercing deeply into that book. "We're here for you Ruby. We're a team, a _family_. We share our burdens so they aren't so heavy."

Body cocooned in warm flesh and heart enveloped in warm feelings, she felt insulated enough to confront her apprehensions.

"Yang…"

"What is it?" Cooing with the patience no one could truly understand. "I'm here. I'm listening."

"I-I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything if you don't want to."

"No, I mean, I don't know what to say…"

Discomfort swelled until Yang noticed Ruby's hand still clutching the pencil which was bearing down a heavy dot at the top of the page following… nothing. She connected those dots.

"You're trying to write to him- talk to him?" The two of them shook as Yang laughed without reason. Perhaps at last seeing the view from the other side which was so funny. "Silly Rubes, you don't need to say anything."

"But-"

The protest emerging was cut short as one of the guarding arms abandoned her. She was left in panic which quickly alleviated when the hand returned to cup itself around her own, guiding it along.

Broad strokes covering the page. She tried to follow what was written but was lost in the knowledge that the sensation of warmth, of two hearts beating as one was transferred across that great divide and lost herself in the moment.

"There."

It was over too soon, the arms shoved her out of the womb and into the light too soon and the shadow was once again upon her as Yang backed away, leaving her to search desperately for something else to cling to, something else to support her-

Looking to the book in front her, that totem of her other half trapped in the pages. And on those pages-

A heart. From top to bottom and edge to binding, those double arches smiling up at her. One for her, one for-

"There."

Yang declared with satisfaction, reaching out once again to pluck the pencil from her loose grip and place it down next to the pictogram, shutting the book gently on them both.

"Done."

Turning around to see her bright smile beaming down, Ruby felt that absent warmth spread throughout her once more. As well as something else.

Satisfaction.

And, a smile of her own.

* * *

True to her promise, Yang was willing to back up her words with actions.

But, even she had to question limitations at some point.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Ruby?" Chewing her cheek as she looked out concerned over her iron guard. "…Now, I mean? We can always do this when you're feeling a little better."

"No." This was something that had to be done now. "I mean- yes. I'm-I'm fine. Really."

Not because it was fear which hitched her voice. Not because this is how her other half would cope. But because she was actually doing something, unrestrainable excitement at this prospect of self-betterment sputtering to life like an engine neglected in a red barn house for decades.

"Just… give me another five minutes."

Also, because she got her rear handed to her half a dozen consecutive times and was a little tired. But this is just semantics.

"We really should get you another weapon." Caught between a promise of assistance and the duty of a sister, Yang shook her head exasperatedly, feeling torn in these two directions.

"No- no weapon- Well, not right now." Between pants she corrected herself before she gave her sister a heart attack. "First, I need to… become my own."

Pushing herself back up onto legs which felt as stiff as cookie dough or well-cooked noodles, she raised arms which felt even worse into a feeble guard.

"I know… I don't have to take things on alone. I know that I shouldn't feel like a burden… I think." Having to catch herself before her opponent did as her legs buckled. "It's just…"

"I get it." Yang rolled her eyes, issuing a long-suffering sigh which could only be conveyed by a person who truly did. "This is just for you." Composing herself as the object in that shattered mirror in front of her, she dropped back into their family's stance. "You're lucky you are my favorite sister. I wouldn't do this for anyone."

"Yay for me…" Smiling despite this sarcasm… and eggplant bruise on her cheek. These were small things in the grand scheme.

"What? Giving me _lip_? Just for that, I'm going to go at 20% strength next." Now Yang felt like the caricature, trying to mimic the joy on her sister's face.

"Bring it!"

The injury, the fatigue, the burdens of the past, these were all small things. Easily surmounted by taking a few steps forward.

* * *

Small things.

Decorations being strung up, livelier conversation amongst growing crowd, an electric air like the warm, dry wind from the west sweeping through their streets.

Large things, too, like those sculpted metallic ships floating gracefully on the breeze like dandelions, trailing multicolor heraldry in their wake.

Yes, things were going on beyond their covert world and esoteric problems. While they were dealing with abstract things like secret organizations, evil cults and homework, the rest of Vale and the staff at Beacon were gearing up for the Vytal festival.

Already foreign students were arriving in fits and spurts, soon enough ensnared by the local rumor mill. Whispering to them of the first years who had become almost urban legend.

This wouldn't bother her. Normally it wouldn't. Not being long without her once omnipresent scythe, however, she felt worse than naked. Those flattering and malicious lies becoming her sole identity. No amount of clutching that thick woolen cape about her shoulders would banish this.

"Glad to have you back, Ruby."

That, however, could. A simple phrase which gave her courage to walk out in the sun.

"How'd you bust your lip, though?"

She pulled the hood over her head, ignoring the curious glance from her Faunus teammate.

"Probably doing something foolish."

Hearing no denials to this charge, Weiss settled her rolling eyes on her captain who was pointedly avoiding it. Changing to Yang, she found the equally rambunctious blonde averting her gaze much the same and whistling an off-beat tune.

"I hope whatever it was doesn't impede on the team's ability to participate in the Vytal tournament. Seriously, it's bad enough that you skipped that exam. If our leader's grade slips, we might not be eligible."

"Gee, really feeling the concern, Weiss." Returning to the conversation, Yang interjected with every ounce of sarcasm left over from her and her sister's verbal and literal spar. "Haven forbid one of us goes and breaks a leg or something. Then we'd have no choice but sit on the sidelines."

"Finally! You're starting to actually think things through!"

The magnitude of her obliviousness was such that the other three halted in their stroll to process it with their complete brainpower.

"There's just so much to do and hardly any time considering classes and everything else. First, we need to replace Ruby's weapon. So, what do you think? You were always ogling _Myrtenaster's_ revolving chamber, it wouldn't be that much trouble to order another. I could easily have the armory in Atlas send it express, and with the increased commerce due to the upcoming festival, it would surely arrive here on time to-"

The enthusiasm which was so atypically Weiss was short lived. Abruptly cut off mid-sentence, her team was lead to believe she had realized their absence and hurried to catch up.

"What's up?" First on the scene, Yang approached the northern girl who was frozen where she stood. " _Schnee_ anything interesting, Weiss? Weiss?"

"She's here…"

If the previous uncharacteristic behavior hadn't been enough to clue the rest of team RWBY into something odd, the fact that the girl had totally ignored the blonde's excruciatingly bad pun was enough to raise goosebumps despite the sweltering temperatures.

"Who's here?"

Any attempt to get further information out of the heiress proved unproductive. They were forced to follow her in her single-minded pursuit over to the flamboyantly decorated cruiser, whose landing gear was already tearing deep ruts in that otherwise immaculate lawn.

The rest were in no particular hurry to greet the Atlassian vessel, and purposefully dragged their feet. So it was with little surprise that when they found her, Weiss was already neck deep in a conversation with one of the personnel which had disembarked down the craft's long gangway.

The surprise came from the fact that the person she was chatting up was all but a mirror image of the petite girl. Older, taller, refined and hardened even without that admittedly flattering military garb drawn on her feminine body. This woman was everything Weiss was not, and it was clear the younger girl knew this by the obsequiousness she displayed in her presence.

"Hello," Not letting her own current demureness get in the way, Ruby was quick to greet this friend of a friend.

To her immediate dismay, both the white-clad women turned to face her rather timid interjection, varying degrees of disdain mirrored across that divide of time.

"And _who_ is this?" Under the poorly-restrained sneer, Ruby felt the hand which normally clutched _Crescent Rose_ tighten around the hem of her cloak, wrapping herself further.

"Oh. Winter, this is Ruby Rose. Ruby, my sister, Winter Schnee." Unable to bear the shame of the young leader any longer, Weiss turned her gaze back to her elder sibling. "Ruby's my… team captain."

"So this is the one I've heard so much about?"

Seized by an urge to ask what she'd heard, but also a debilitating anxiety, Ruby chose to keep quiet. Coming to resent that inaction underneath the thin, white eyebrow raised in accusation which was so similar to her partner's and yet like everything else, hardened with experience.

"She doesn't look like much."

Even beneath the truthfulness of this statement, she could all but feel Naruto's unrestrainable umbrage pounding against the inside of her forehead.

No- wait, that was her! This was _her_ offence refusing to cow down to this interloper who dared waltz in to her life and usurp her partner and friend- overwrite the life she had painstakingly scribed for herself. She raised her voice lest she raise her fist.

"Otta be more careful there, Ice Queen. Don't you know it's the quiet ones ya gotta watch out for?"

Before she could make good on this rediscovered truth, a chillingly familiar voice appeared behind the cloud of her rage, surgically slipping back into her life through a scalpel-thin incision.

Another shiver wracked her, and she once again drew the loosened cloak tighter around herself.

"By that same logic, a loudmouth like you I can feel free to ignore, right?" Winter too did not appear to treat this intrusion kindly, turning towards the newcomer with a barely-restrained scowl. "What the hell is a drunkard like you even doing here?"

"What? I can't pay a friendly visit to my nieces every now and then?" Having not so much as looked at her since his shadow fell across their meeting, Ruby found this excuse highly unlikely. "Or is that privilege only reserved for Atlas's hounds- so far as they're on a leash?"

"I'm surprised they even let a cur like you on campus. Your deplorable habits are no doubt terrible influences on these students. I still can't believe they have you as a teacher at a junior academy."

"Please, as if these little munchkins could be so easily swayed. If that were the case, you can bet your tight little arse that neither you or the rest of your pack of dogs would be allowed anywhere near Beacon. This ain't Atlas, and Ozpin's not looking for a bunch of mindless pawns to line up for slaughter."

"Why should he? He's got you for that, no?"

Raising his arms in mock surrender, a bottle in one hand and a flask in the other, the living scarecrow unconsciously or otherwise put himself between an increasingly irate soldier and the Beacon students.

"Meh, I'm more a bishop or a knight, moving in unpredictable ways, but I guess you got a point." Debating between the two containers in hand for a moment, Qrow finally settled on the last swig left in the bottle before carelessly tossing it on the once-pristine lawn. "At least we're playing the game, and not outwitting ourselves in a match of solitaire. Then again, with that cold attitude of yours, you must be used to playing _solitaire_ by now, huh?"

Most caught on to the innuendo even if the scarlet complexion across Winter's face didn't clue them in. It is debatable if Ruby understood the double-entendre though, as she was fixated on the previous repartee. It was all she could do to distract herself from the man's reappearance after such a long absence in her life.

"You-!"

Language failed to convey the litany of curses invoked by that one word. It was enough for those with any inkling of self-preservation to get themselves out of the way, though it went unnoticed or unheeded by a select few.

Either by arrogance, distraction, or simply fate, this is how the cards fell.

First to draw her blade, Winter raced at the staggering huntsman. Who- obviously not as inebriated as he made himself to be- neatly stepped out of the way with no room to spare. Taking another swig carelessly in between the brief pause of incredulity, he had more than enough time to draw and unfold the blade stashed on his back before the next offensive came, meeting it with a rooster tail of sparks.

They traded blows for an intense few seconds which gathered numerous spectators from around the courtyard. The perfectionist saber skills of the Atlassian officer frustratingly countered with lackadaisical efficiency time and again. Until, by simple evolution of combat, things began to escalate.

Smarter bystanders knew when to get the hell out of the way, much as the rest of team RWBY knew to retreat with the first signs of confrontation. However, blindsided and dizzy by everything including that afternoon's sparing session, Ruby was rooted in the same spot they had left her in.

Which also happened to be smack-dab in the middle of no-man's-land.

Continuously more powerful attacks ripped up the poor, beleaguered grass and passed her her by within arm's reach. They fluttered the cloak about her like leaves on a bough while she stood there as still as a tree. Finally taking notice of the precarious situation, Yang balked in horror and threw herself into the chaos, yelling her sister's name to anyone who cared to listen.

"RUBY!"

"Hm?"

Doing so managed to stir her, but not in time to change anything. Least of all that stray thrust which rocketed towards her out of control.

Not as drunk as he seemed but more sloshed than he'd intended or cared to admit, Qrow could do nothing. It was a foolish mistake on his part, as was goading his nemesis into attacking him. Now he would be forced to live with the consequences. Red matador's cape taunting him as he watched, helpless.

For Winter, that same red shroud managed to dispel her anger. Revealing instead panic, reality swept from underneath her like a magician's tablecloth when she realized there was no chance of recalling her strike.

The sound like a thousand wineglasses shattering all at once rippled around the field.

With the magician's work done, the table legs collapsed underneath it with a fleshy clatter.

"Oof!" White and red collided and bounced off like pool balls.

Yang wasn't the only one running towards the mess. The remainder of team RWBY and even a few concerned first and second-year students sprinted across the grass with throat-burning urgency. She was the first though, skidding in to home like a professional ballplayer to prop her sister's dazed body up onto her knees.

"Speak to me Sis!"

She urged desperately to googly-eyes still trying to shake off the force of the older woman plowing into her. Winter was fairing only marginally better behind them, despite having to recover by herself. Her own sister standing between the two in debilitating indecision.

"Yang… Did anyone get the number of that train?" She lolled back and forth, trying to get a fix on the three swirling images of her sister. "Gah! Too hard, Yang!"

Chuckling at her own overenthusiastic embrace, Yang backed off. She looked up to see her other two teammates hovering over them and mirrored their perplexed smiles. Though upon catching sight of her uncle hanging around in the background near the edge of the gathering crowd, she couldn't help but let that expression sour.

"Hey, what's that?"

Content to shelve those negative thoughts for the time being, she turned back to see where Blake was pointing. The shining bit of metal still clenched within Ruby's hand flashed up at them.

"Is that…?"

Looking at her reflection in the hammer-forged shard, Ruby's silver eyes seemed to wink back at her. Whoever was on the other side was smiling for some unknown reason, twinkling in the afternoon sun and enticing her to delve deeper into that silvery outline.

"My sword!"

The harsh exclamation by Winter snapped her out of this trance and back into reality. Doing the same for others, all four drew their eyes to where she stood, trembling and staring at the what remained of her blade jutting up from the basket-hilt in her hand.

Whispers from onlookers and even the stunned fits and starts by an incredulous Schnee were drowned out by the uproarious laughter coming from the drunkard who could no longer even hold his own weapon aloft, relying upon it to bear his weight.

"Oh- oh man! Y-you should see- you should see your- Bwahahaha!"

For what it was worth, Ruby did not let her uncle's amusement curtail her own, and chuckled sheepishly at the sheer incredulity of it all. This did not go unnoticed by Qrow, who took a brief break to meet his niece's gaze.

It was obvious by his actions he was trying to make amends. But he still had a long way to go in owing up to his other actions. Or rather, lack of them.

"I think… I've had enough for today."

Uttering this quietly, she stood up on her own before anyone could move to help her. Making to dust off the grass which had been ground into her clothes, she paused upon the blade-fragment glued to her hand.

The saber had suffered the same fate as _Crescent Rose_ , and with that thought she was sorry. In a way, destroying a weapon was more tragic even that killing someone who deserved it. The weapon had no will, no desire of its own.

This in mind, she wordlessly placed the scrap of metal in her partner's hand under the confused looks of the three. Then, unhurriedly but with a deliberate stride, began her return to the dorms. On her way, she passed by her uncle who was mired in a heated argument between Ozpin and Glynda, along with a man she did not recognize.

Paying the five adults little mind, she kept her focus straight ahead, not looking back.

In a way she was sorry. And in a way, she was grateful. She'd been given a gift at the expense of her first weapon. There'd be others. She'd make sure of that. No matter the nature, be it from gods unknown or won by her own merit, she'd been given a gift. And be damned if she would squander it.

So when the headmaster called out to her during her trek, it was not with mistrust or apprehension that she followed him and the others back into the secluded tower.

It was with a skip in her step and an eye to the future. Experience didn't mean you had to look askance at everything that came your way. Being an adult didn't mean you had to look for the worst in things. These were but considerations, and the rest was up to you.

* * *

"May I ask what a… student is doing here?"

The Atlassian general looked askance at her with narrowed eyes while she tried to burrow herself into a corner of the headmaster's office. Gone was the laissez-faire mentality the moment she became the center of attention again. It would almost be preferable if the man simply dismissed her as an insignificant fly on the wall instead of trying to deduce what kind of spy she really was.

Almost.

"Yes, you may."

Ozpin replied to with the same self-assured blasé he always adorned, making her feel slightly better. Everyone was equal in his eyes.

It did wonders to reduce the lingering sting from when she had last been bitten in this room.

"Enough of your games, Oz." General Ironwood growled, losing some of that tenuous composure he had managed to scrape up. "What exactly is she doing in this room?"

With the presence of a select few individuals, the headmaster's office was transformed from casual salon to covert headquarters for a group she clearly wasn't meant to know about but did because of Ozpin's questionable decision to bring her into the loop.

"Come now, James, you're an adult." Watching the headmaster bear his fangs underneath the tight-lipped smile was part of the performance she was undoubtably here to observe, and so she wisely remained quiet. "Miss Rose is perfectly capable of answering your question, so why don't you ask her? She is, after all, the one who had to deal with your slip-up."

Drawing a sharp breath through his nose like a hiss, Ruby watched the general flinch with a tint of smugness.

"Ozpin-!" Cold steel eyes leveled in her direction, yet this time she held firm. "… I see…" He coughed into his hand.

"She was also the one to bring this information to my attention in the first place." Continued the headmaster, that same satisfaction with watching the powerful man falter. "Which makes me wonder why it had to be brought to me from _a student,_ rather than my allies or _agents_."

Oddly enough, when the questioning turned to her uncle, she derived none of the same gratification as she did just previously. The feelings of finally seeing the man again after years apart were conflicted. Though she did not like having him avert his sight whenever she was in his presence. At last she understood that while she might have wanted her uncle to be brought down a peg or two, more than anything she wanted to be acknowledged again.

Qrow, meanwhile, was trying to gather the temerity to be upset with Ozpin for dragging his niece into this sordid affair. The alcohol-derived strength in his blood was quickly wearing off, however, as he realized he also held no ground to stand on.

"I guess if you need me to be pandering about it James," He spoke again, filling the pregnant pause with weaponized disappointment. "I brought us together so that you could apologize to Miss Rose for failing to do your jobs."

"No."

Speaking out before either of the men could rediscover their pride, and before Ozpin could claim her as his tool any more.

"I don't need an apology, or thanks, or anything out of the ordinary." The uncertainty fixated upon her was of no help, and so she delved deep inside to search for what she meant to say. "I'm doing this because… I believe it's the right thing to do. For me, for my friends, for the people I care about." She shook her head to dismiss the other road she was rapidly falling towards. "I'm thankful that I can know what I'm fighting for. No one owes me anything."

And, most importantly, her debts had been repaid.

The headmaster allowed the silence to permeate after this declaration. And as she unflinchingly met his eyes, she wondered if this was not a test for her as well.

"Be that as it may…" Unsurprisingly, Ironwood found his voice first. "A huntress in training should not be without a weapon. Atlas would be happy to sponsor you for any replacement you might purchase or materials you would need."

"Thank you," Ruby offered the man a slight incline of her head. "-but no. I'll be fine."

"But surely if you are to continue to work in this, and with the Vytal tournament approaching…"

"She can have mine!"

Coughing did little to abate the stares directed at him. Though out of all of them, Qrow balked under his niece's gaze. But rather than wanting the man to feel uncomfortable, her stare was for her own benefit as she realized the remorse in his eyes and in his offer. Not unlike the tired smile from the Toad Sanin who realized he was too late to be a godfather.

"Thanks," Offering him the barest of smiles. "but you should keep it."

"Yes, well then," Lowering eyebrows and succeeding where Qrow had failed to divert attention, Ozpin's scant words got them back on track. "That's all I really wanted out of today apart from introductions. I will be talking with you all individually in the coming weeks as we have a lot of preparations to hash out. At the moment though, it has been a long journey here for you two, and Ms. Rose has classes first thing in the morning that I am sure she needs her rest for."

Not bothering to deny the drooping eyelids, she allowed herself to be used as an excuse once more.

"Right then, until later, Ozpin."

"Although, Ms. Rose, if you could just hold on for just a while, I'm afraid there is one more thing."

It was tempting to ignore the headmaster, no matter how wrong a response this might have been. Already he knew and had stated that she needed her sleep, being half-asleep on her feet already. And yet whatever he had to say was so important as to ignore this fact.

"Yes, Professor?"

Elevator doors shut with a pneumatic hiss, the car rejoining the rest of the campus without her. Before it did, her uncle had given her a parting glance that expressed his desire to talk further. This was the only thing keeping her from being sorry she hadn't joined them. She was getting enough talking these days.

"Ms. Rose," Ozpin smiled somewhat ruefully at her, and she knew it was going to be another tough one. "Ruby. I wanted to ask if you are feeling alright."

"Okay. Go ahead and ask." Not deterred by this snark in the slightest, Ozpin laughed at the dose of his own medicine.

"Alright then, I know you are tired, and from the events of today I can see why. I simply wish to express my concern."

"With what?" Where there was none before, his admitted worry brought out her own, making her wonder just what went wrong.

Adding to this was the man's delay of an answer, standing up from his desk to slowly straighten his elongate self with several groans coming from mouth and body. He was showing his own age and fatigue, which did nothing to assuage these mounting reservations.

"Ms. Goodwitch is a registered psychologist, did you know that?"

It was a cruel move to prolong the conversation, but she decided to indulge the equally tired headmaster and shook her head in the negative. Having been in the woman's office and under her scrutiny more times than she cared to admit, this should have been something she noticed.

"Is this about the test today, then?"

"No." Ozpin admitted, pacing slowly with one hand braced on his lumbar, the other steadfast on his cane. "At first it wasn't. Everyone has their bad days, and a single test won't make or break a career." It would have been nice to have her partner here, if only to hear the school's proprietor admit this fact. "What I am afraid of is this becoming a trend. You froze up again today, didn't you? Out on the lawn."

"Yeah, but that was-!" What was it exactly?

The man stopped pacing only to frown. "This wasn't the first time either, was it?"

"Yes. Maybe…no? I've always managed to snap out of it." She argued, knowing she couldn't do so with the other point. "I'm getting better…"

"Perhaps." Surprise shown at this admission, though Ozpin refused to look at her and instead focused on the window. "But perhaps not. In some ways you are improving in leaps and bounds. Such as the mission the other night, or even the spar with your sister this afternoon."

Heat spread to her cheeks, though she couldn't tell if it was embarrassment or indignation. It should have been obvious by now that the man was watching them all hours of the day, but to intrude on a private scene like that… she did not want to imagine what else the man took upon himself to be aware of.

"You should not feel ashamed. It was a very mature thing to admit your reliance upon weaponry and aim to fix it." Misreading her facial expression for chagrin, he elaborated. "And despite the way things turned out, you handled the mission as best as could be expected. You got your team out of there safely, and that's all that could be hoped for. Everything else was just icing on the cake."

Hearing this admittedly soothed the burn, but she was still waiting to hear the punchline. It still felt like there was something else left to be said beyond idle praise for her learning.

"I am still concerned, though. You appear to suffer from manic shifts including obsessive urges of self-improvement and moments of total aloofness or debilitating ennui. Now while I fully admit that many huntsmen and huntresses are known for their eccentricities off the battlefield, I do not trust that you can fully control your own, and that they may distract you in combat.

"While you have quite a bit on your plate as it is, I don't feel like the workload you are receiving here at Beacon is what is bothering you. I suspect that it is your other personality- Naruto, his name was? – Interfering with your concentration"

To hear that name on his lips sent shivers up her spine. Never in the time she had known the man had he asked her anything about her condition. Though she suspected he read her medical notes, the way he spoke so frankly, and that penetrating glance from the corner of his eye, spoke to her of comprehension on a level she was ashamed to admit her classmates might never achieve.

"Yes," swallowing "But, how-?"

"I told you Glynda was a psychologist. You don't think I keep her around solely for her organization skills, do you?" He grinned, facing her. "You and I are more alike than I lead you to believe."

Floored by the news- almost literally as she had to brace herself on the back of a chair which had been left over from the previous meeting. Ozpin eyed her carefully, almost clinically as if afraid of what she might do, but did not reach out to catch her should she fail to steady herself. Before she could accomplish this however, he began speaking again.

"So now you know I speak from experience. Although I must admit that I have never heard of it affecting you only when you sleep, I suspect this is also why you have been having such a difficult time integrating him."

"Integrating? What do you mean?" Beyond tired, she felt dizzy, light headed. Nothing was making sense.

"Naturally, for the process to work, the two of you must share some personality traits, compatible souls. Problems can arise if one or the other proves too submissive, though, and the other tends to dominate, perhaps overriding the other entirely."

"No, we share things, everything. Two parts of a whole."

"Or two hands on a clock? One going faster than the other and setting the pace. Tell me, Ruby, the other day at the White Fang rally, did you aim to kill Adam Taurus?"

"No! I mean, I don't think so…"

"But are you sure? The other White Fang soldiers, the attacks you have been using are all designed to be lethal. Did you know you were targeting the eight vital points on a human body? Does this sound familiar?"

This line of questioning disgusted her, made her sick. Anger, denial, fighting it, fighting herself, her fatigue, her body trying to puke.

"So what?!" She pulled herself up. "I don't mean to do it, I don't want to kill, but it makes me fight better! What's wrong with that?! And they're not exactly good guys in the first place. I'm just trying to protect my team, and make sure that I'm not a burden to them or to him. I just want to be my own-"

She stopped. Why was she getting so upset?

Taking a step back with a foreign frown etched upon his face, Ozpin's brows knitted and lines showing his true age stood out against youthful visage as it was plagued with worry and confusion.

"Oh dear…"

"Professor, I'm-I'm sorry…" He shook his head.

"No, Ruby, I am. I'm on your side, I hope you realize that. I wanted you to… I thought you were handling it alight on your own. I know it's a monumental burden to take on, and I've only ever observed it from one side. I didn't realize it was this… severe."

"What do you mean?" Scared and angry.

"I fear that 'Naruto' is taking over. The way you refer to him, in the present tense, is like he's actually living his life separately somewhere."

"Well… he _is_."

Taking a seat on the closest thing available which happened to be his desk, the headmaster leaned back and sighed, running a hand through his silvery hair.

"Ruby, I wasn't always Ozpin. Before, I was… I-I honestly don't remember." Entrapped by the terror which was this ordinarily unflappable man losing it, Ruby trembled and listened. "It doesn't matter, Ozpin is… a product, of myself and what came before. His experience, his memories, but with that important change which makes something new, makes it so we don't repeat the same mistakes of the past."

He looked up from the floor and met her eye. What was that past the obscuring lenses perched on the tip of his nose? For a moment, she thought she could see someone screaming behind those murky brown orbs. Or was that her in the reflection?

"Naruto is just a wandering soul. A memory. He only exists inside of you."

* * *

 _For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Death sets us free of these bonds of time and space as beginnings and ends fade away on either side of an eternity. Bringing us to a place where there is no gap between thought and action, and the lies of second thoughts cannot survive in a vacuum of time._

 _But if death is infinite, where does life fit in? Crammed in somewhere as a footnote to the monument of mortality? Smothered by that all-encompassing truism?_

 _Or maybe life is removed entirely, a separate line which runs parallel until, at some point, it doesn't. Those two lines intersecting into a knot which is the beginnings of a tapestry._

 _The beginnings of something beautiful._

 _Can those who are a part of this masterpiece ever hope to see it? Or by removing themselves from the weave, will they be its destruction?_


	32. Biblicus

**So, I'm just gonna come out and say it's your guys' fault for this taking so long. That's right, I am trying so hard to get things right for you that I was working on this night and day for the past… oh shit, two weeks?- *Ahem* - Yes, well, trying to satisfy both your requests for more plot and my own neurotic need for a story with WAY too much detail took a little longer than expected. Also, it's totally your fault too that I had to start another story just to get some comedic relief into my life. Yup.**

… **.And I hope you know that I'm totally joking. I love y'all and wouldn't be doing this if I didn't. Now that I actually do have some direction and inspiration for this though, things should come easier.**

 **Though, if you do read my other stories, you should realize by now that plans never survive first contact.**

* * *

"Stupid Pervy-Sage… Ozpin no Baka…"

Punctuated by a rhythm of punches and slashes, this chant resounded throughout the isolated training ground at the far western edge of the Village Hidden in the Leaves- rather, what was left of it, a bare sliver hugging the wall no larger than a crescent moon. As such, the perpetrator didn't feel too responsible for the additional damage he caused.

' _ **Naruto, I think that's enough.'**_

If he weren't already so exhausted it is doubtful whether he would have listened. As it was, the vindictive tattoo petered out and the boy collapsed onto his backside, thoroughly exhausted yet again.

' _ **Why are you so riled up?'**_ With his frustration expelled and the continued heavy breathing making it impossible for him to rant, this was the time to ask.

"Why… are you… not?"

' _ **Hmph. I have never expected much from humans, so when they say or do something stupid to meet my expectations it hardly matters.'**_ Which, admittedly, was not so true anymore. But then, they weren't entirely human, either. _**'No, I simply don't need the Pervert's faith**_ **.** _ **You trust what I say, and she trusts you. I do not see her faltering.'**_ Which was not totally true either, seeing how she had fallen right asleep afterwards without indicating one way or another. But that implied faith should have been mutual, and that was part of the issue.

What must she have thought as he neglected to answer and stared at the pockmarked ground in silence? Was it that easy to forget that they were no longer of the same mind and she could no more hear his inner monologue than she could hear the other voice inside his head?

"I don't know." He admitted. "Maybe because… I want him to understand. Maybe because I _don't_ understand." Flopping back on the only remaining patch of grass with a sigh. "Maybe because I just… don't know what to do anymore."

' _ **And? Since when has that ever stopped you? Since when have you let your fear of making a wrong decision keep you from doing anything?'**_ There was no answer but the steady rise and fall of his chest and the view of a cloudless blue sky above. _**'If there is one thing that I have learned from interacting with you two it's that mistakes are inevitable. Fault the man all you wish, but Ozpin does at least acknowledge his fallibility. Someday he and the others will understand, but only if you make them. And you can't do anything just laying there.'**_

The boy hummed to show that he heard, but little else, and for a while it seemed as though he had fallen asleep.

"Have you ever made a mistake?"

' _ **Yes.'**_ Reluctant, but unhesitating, followed closely by a sigh realizing that the matter would not be so easily dropped. _**'And no, I do not consider you and Ruby a mistake.'**_

This was not what he wanted to hear, rather needed to. This was made obvious by his body relaxing against that tenderized ground.

"Oh. Thanks." Birds chirping as they strolled the sidewalks of the skies. "Kyῡbi? What was my mistake?"

Where did this introspection come from? Was it something inherent to the enigma of Naruto Uzumaki, or something borrowed?

' _ **With Jiraiya? Nothing.'**_ A tensing of his back and that hand across his chest, decrying surprise. His body was an open book even if his face remained glued to the endless blue. There was more, and he knew it. _**'As far as I can tell, even now humans are confusing. But if you want me to tell you it's because you haven't tried hard enough, you'll be disappointed.'**_ Even now his body was crying out for reprieve, one can only imagine his mind. _**'You need to trust Ruby's competence, for one.'**_

"I do!" The shout scared the birds which had ventured close upon the ground to inspect the worms he had unearthed. "…And two?" This time a lot quieter, less sure.

' _ **You need to listen.'**_ To his credit, there was no rebuttal. _**'Really listen, and not assume like everyone else does. It's difficult, not coming in with preconceived notions or opinions disguised as fact. And before you ask, this is one of my faults, one that likely prolonged my antagonism with your race. The Pervert may be guilty of this too, but like Ozpin, he knows his failings. Heh, it might just be a characteristic of old age to realize you're not always right. Shame it took me several centuries longer…'**_

It was impossible to say what was going on his head, though the fact that the almighty being within him was sounding so humble was no doubt something to chew on.

' _ **And you know? You could do worse than to listen to the Toad Sage once and a while. Occasionally, he has something interesting to say.'**_

"What do you mean?" The worry and betrayal in his voice was as obvious as it was heartbreaking. Something even a sigh could not assuage.

' _ **I mean, that he might be correct about you and me. You felt it when we first met. There was a familiarity because like Her, we had been together your whole life. Akin, but not the same. I cannot be like her because I cannot hold equal weight in your esteem. There needs to be a fulcrum on which this connection hinges**_

' _ **I**_ _ **am that fence in between, and not part of either side. If you cannot agree, answer me this: would you have ever stopped to question the world the way I see it?'**_

"I guess… I always believed that…" _**'…Because I was a part of you, I would know, and think like you?'**_

"Maybe…" There was a deep but silent chuckle which did nothing to disturb the birds settling once more on that blond crop of hair like a sunflower.

' _ **I see all of what you do- both of you. But I can never walk the path on which you live.'**_

"But, Kyῡbi, you're just as-"

' _ **Kurama.'**_

The silence was resounding, telling, and oh so very painful.

' _ **You never asked. My name is Kurama.'**_

A far more hurtful way to reveal it than ever intended, but maybe breaking things apart is the only way we can ever look back on ourselves.

He was like that when they found him. Laying upon that sole green patch and unresponsive to the outside world, waiting for love's true kiss to awaken him.

"…But what if he _was_ dead and they think it was our fault and they chase us out of town? Then Kumo would find out that we failed our mission and declare us missing-nin, forcing us to flee from both Fire and Lightning country. We'd wander from town to town, chased by hunter-nin until we got to Suna where we could wear cloaks and blend in to the crowd. But for the rest of our lives we'd never be able to take them off because the moment I did the sun would burn me to a crisp and traders would take you two to work at the sultan's palace where you'd be forced to work in the stables and Samui would be put into his harem where she'd fall in love with the prince. But because of the improprieties of the romance and they'd have to die as martyrs and bring down a curse on all our ancestors and future descendants!'

"…Omoi, shut up." One could _feel_ the exasperation this one felt for her teammate. "First off: Wind country doesn't have a sultan, secondly: there's no way you'd ever produce offspring and thirdly: he's not dead. I mean, I don't _think_ he is…"

"Confirm that this is indeed Uzumaki Naruto, then we will worry about it." A third voice intoned, this one cold enough to send shivers up the spine even on this beautiful Spring day.

"Who in the hell else would have we seen around here with hair like that? Not to mention that overgrown garden tool… Hey, his eyes are open, maybe he really is dead."

"I can hear you, ya know." Although, this was a surprise to more than just the interlopers. "So who the hell are you guys and why are you looking for me?" Both words and posture were defensive as he stood up to face the three ninja from Kumogakure. Ever a fast learner, he recognized he was in a less than optimal state of mind and was admirably trying to hold his tongue, to say nothing of _Radiant Thorn_ which was draped idly on his shoulder, both imposing and relaxed.

The blonde dichotomy with icy tone and smoking hot body stepped forward, asserting herself as the leader. Without realizing it he relaxed, her archetype instilling an ease but also healthy respect.

"My name is Samui." Regardless of prior experiences, he could not hold in that twitch of an eyebrow at the irony of her name. She respectfully ignored it, or else was so taken aback by the fact that he wasn't staring at her chest. "-And these are my teammates: Omoi and Karui." "Yo." "Hmph." "…We are to be your escorts back to Kumo."

He nodded in acceptance of this professional greeting, dispassionate and cold it might have been. That was something he hadn't seemed to notice before, or else attributed it to the situation at the time. But he had to ask: were all shinobi supposed to be like this, or was it just the one? It was easy enough to see in the scowl the redhead was giving him.

"Uzumaki Naruto." He replied in kind, returning his weapon into a seal tattooed to his wrist. "Though I guess you knew that." The dark-skinned man whistled.

"That's a neat trick. Would certainly make carrying backup weapons easier."

" _Radiant Thorn_ is the only weapon I'll need." He tried to sound confident in this but detected his own hesitance. "Well, and some kunai and shuriken I guess." A decent cover, for everyone but himself.

"That so?" Intrigued rather than condescending, Omoi fiddled with the candy sucker in his mouth with one hand and the sword on his back with the other. "I take it since you've put it away you wouldn't be up for a spar?"

The swords strapped to each of them he had noticed earlier, but only now made the connection. Apparently, Kumo must train most of their shinobi to use a weapon of some sort. Just like-

Omoi misinterpreted his biting of his lips. Waving his hand dismissively.

"Nah, don't worry about it. Just curious. You're kinda famous, you know. Even in Kumo."Substituting his guilt for embarrassment, Naruto tried using this mistake to his advantage.

"Actually, I was wondering if we couldn't leave right away."

"Tch, running away, huh? Figures…"

As clear as it was that the other two didn't hear her, it was obvious she did not expect him to, either. With that advanced hearing courtesy of his… tenant, he filed the distasteful remark away for later, shelving the question of the redhead's animosity with practiced ease.

The inferred team leader kept her surprise limited to a single raised eyebrow well underneath her bobbed hair.

"I suppose that's no problem. We should be able to leave whenever you are ready."

"Great." Behind his smile, he wondered if he was not asking too much of these people if they had indeed just gotten into Konoha that day. But he also realized that someone as professional as Samui would never admit it even if it were true. "Let's go."

"Now?"

"Mm." He confirmed. "I'm all packed." He patted his new vest which was chocked full of survival equipment folded into layers of paper like butter into a croissant.

"I see." The unflappable attitude served only to make him want to see what it took to break it, and if she hadn't been so cold already a chill might have run up her spine at this thought. "Are you sure you don't have any personal items you wish to… oh."

He grinned at the small misstep, knowing that behind him, framed by the trees was the vast emptiness which used to be his home.

"And actually- Omoi was it?- I wouldn't be opposed to a spar some time." Deciding to rescue the ridged blonde, he shot a grin at the candy-sucking ninja. "We should have plenty of time on the road."

"Considering the enemies you might have after you, I'm not so sure attracting attention with a spar would be a good idea." Evidently Samui had no need of his help and was going to prove a greater challenge to rile than he expected.

"Oh, good point!" Omoi noted before his dark skin seemed to bleach. "And what if we were to get out of hand and accidentally involve a nearby farm village? Then I'd have to get married to the mayor's daughter to appease them, but we'd elope because there'd still be the mission, and her father would get angry and tell everyone where we were headed, and they'd track us to the coast where there'd be a final battle. Of course, they would know my bride wasn't a ninja and try to use it against me so Samui would have to take her away so she didn't see me sacrifice myself, but then she'd escape because it turns out she was actually an enemy ninja all along…"

"Omoi, shut up."

There it was, authenticity, real people behind that cold shinobi persona. Basic human interactions were something he felt like he had been neglecting for some time. Despite the obvious detractor he had among them, Naruto felt a smile spread across his face as he anticipated enjoying being around them for the duration.

How come he hadn't appreciated this sort of thing while he had it at his fingertips? His friends, all those who stood up for him. Once again he'd be leaving, and only now he realized what he would miss.

"Well then, shall we?" Looking his direction, the cold woman might have seen his disquiet, but chose to ignore it for one reason or another.

Soon enough, they found themselves by what remained of Konoha's once proud gates, the two towers on either side looking longingly inward over the village they used to protect, and outward to a world that seemed far more hostile than before.

"Are you sure there's nothing else you need from here, nothing else you'd like to do?"

"No." Idleness at this point was painful for him. Alleviated somewhat by the chance he'd get to meet another of his fellow Jinchῡriki- but at the same time exacerbated by the knowledge he'd never get to meet one of them again. "Actually, yes. There is one thing I'd like to do."

Before they could ask what this was, more than a dozen clones popped into existence around them and quickly took off, leaving the Kumo ninja suitably impressed.

"They weren't kidding." Mumble Omoi while his dark-skinned partner just seemed to become more upset.

"Okay, now we can-"

"Wait!" The four turned to this outcry, expecting to see a sole messenger hurrying towards them. "You didn't think you were going to leave without saying goodbye, did you?"

What they were greeted with instead was a sight to behold, and one that they wouldn't believe if they hadn't sensed the arrival at the last minute, already falling into defensive stances with the thought that they were about to be ambushed.

"To be honest, that's what I sent the clones for." Naruto admitted with uncharacteristic bashfulness, scratching the back of his head and not daring to cross eyes with any of the eleven before him.

To this Tenten, blew a raspberry at him, something she hadn't done until meeting Bara-Ruby.

"Really? That'd hardly do. Just for that, I'm going to bug you the whole way about it."

"What do you mean? You're not coming with us, are you?"

In triumph she raised a piece of paper which was covered in messy scrawl and what looked to be a stain in the top-right corner from some sort of liquid. At the bottom were a score of other signatures, all clearly different but written in the same ink.

"This mission request says otherwise."

"Mission request?" Confused, as the Hōkage had already requested a Kumo escort.

"Yup! Konoha Twelve requesting… the Konoha Twelve, for an escort mission to the border of Fire Country."

"You can't be serious, what kind of spoiled brat needs a dozen guards? That thing has to be a fake."

"Not unless someone was dumb enough to forge Tsunade-sama's signature." Smirking victoriously, she pointed to the royal seal decorating the center of the page.

Karui scoffed. "What, was she drunk at the time?"

"Probably," Tenten conceded. "But we're the clients, so unless you want to take it up with the Hōkage, you're stuck with it!"

"You guys…"

"Well then, let's go already." Sounding peeved at her mission being usurped, nevertheless Samui looked back at the gaggle of Konoha ninja with a slight smile one could be sure was a rare sight with that woman. "Plenty of time for sappy goodbyes on the road."

"Alright everyone!" The bun-haired girl cried, taking unofficial control of the entourage. "Mission starts… now!"

* * *

"This is nice, right? Just a standard, on-the-books mission for once. No White Fang, no giant robots, just a lot of empty space and Grimm."

Not everyone could be as happy as the white-haired girl as each of her team looked around at the husks of buildings with a mounting sense of trepidation.

"I don't know, something seems off." The blonde looked suspiciously at a shadow which ducked underneath a bench when they rounded the corner. Returning her attention back to her sister who had been rather quiet since returning from Glynda's office that morning. "What do you think Ruby? Hey, Rubes?"

Revealing though it was, the meeting earlier that day with Goodwitch wasn't that distracting- shouldn't have been. Her focus was entirely devoted on scanning the surroundings, trying to find that which was out of place. She couldn't help but to send a glance inward.

"Ugh! It feels off because we've gotten used to insanity. At last we've got something people our age are **supposed** to handle, and you want to complain about it!"

"I'm not complaining about it, just-"

"Maybe Weiss is right." The three heads whipped back to the one they thought was paying least attention. "Maybe we are overreacting. I mean, this place **is** creepy, but it's creepy for a reason." Walking past a store that still had some of its paint and a sign out front, it was not hard to imagine it once being a quaint toy-store. Now with but a sole stuffed-bear sitting on the broken-out sill, it was more like the scene of a horror film.

"Mountain Glenn was supposed to be an expansion for Vale." Blake intoned, walking over next to Ruby to gently brush the dust off the stuffed animal. "And it failed when it was overrun by Grimm. Lots of people gambled on it and lost everything. Their homes, their livelihoods…" No more needed to be said, as the wind whistling through the hollow buildings spoke for them.

"Exactly." Yang muttered, hugging her arms as the wind cut right through her. "So where **are** they? Where are all these Grimm?"

No one had an answer.

Night fell swiftly. Even before the sun had set over the horizon, the petrified skyscrapers cast upon them a deep shadow to warn them of what was to come. At the very least it gave them enough time to find shelter in a relatively intact building and organize a base of operations.

"Alright." Satisfied with their conservative campfire, Weiss turned back to her teammates who were busy unrolling their sleeping bags. "Before dinner, we should discuss who gets guard duty first so that those who want to go to sleep right away-"

There was to be no discussion, she realized, as two others inconspicuously touched their fingers to their nose. This left Ruby who was staring at the three of them with a blank expression.

"Sorry Ruby, nose goes."

"I know."

She insisted, wanting to be the first one anyway. Knowing she wasn't going to be able to fall asleep would allow time by herself for contemplation. Spacing out was okay, but there was a time and place for everything, and she had resolved not to do it where it might endanger her friends.

All too soon she found herself alone on her sleeping pad, staring out into the night. All too soon, she found herself back in Goodwitch's office.

* * *

"… _And, that's my story." Finding it an uninspiring ending for what was, so far, an uninspiring story. She awaited the verdict from the woman however, who even now waited with her chin resting on interlocked fingers in unreadable concentration. "So… what do you think?"_

 _As if these words were the on switch to reanimate her, the tall woman once again sat back high above her desk._

" _Does it matter what I think?"_

" _No," Already the answer was hesitant, retreating back into its shell when accosted by that looming eyebrow. "…yes?"_

" _Is it approval you want from me?" Hard to believe she'd ever get to it beneath the composed exterior._

" _Yes." She found that she did, despite this. "I just want someone to tell me that I'm not lying. That I'm not crazy. That I'm not imagining this or making it up. That these things I'm feeling are real and true as you or me. For once, I just want someone to listen to me and not question it, not try to analyze me, not pity me or lock me up but just listen and accept it for what it is: my story."_

 _Nowhere did she raise her voice or deliver the speech with anything but an even weariness worn down from the manic peaks and valleys her path had lead through to this point._

" _Okay."_

" _Okay?"_

" _Okay. I accept you."_

 _The words that she'd longed to hear were right there, just lain there on the table bare without any strings attached. Even still, she dared not receive them for fear that something would come out to biter her if she were to just but reach. As if realizing this, Glynda sighed and removed her glasses which were wearing deep dimples into the bridge of her nose._

" _Believe it or not Miss Rose, but I have seen and heard a lot during my career. Not just here at Beacon- although, to be fair, it certainly seems to acquire more than its fair share of special cases…" She coughed. "Regardless. What if I were to tell you that even among your class, you are not the only one who has come before my desk?"_

" _What, really? Who?"_

" _Unfortunately, I cannot reveal that. Doctor-patient confidentiality." Chagrinned, she curled up with a blush as she realized that she wouldn't want people hearing everything she'd said to this woman either. "I_ _ **can**_ _tell you that I have seen bedwetters, pyromaniacs, manic-depressives, imaginary friends, sociopaths, sycophants, perverts, quadrophanics and many, many more. All of them were here before me for one reason or another because of what they did or didn't do."_

 _She leaned far over so that the one illuminating lamp was eclipsed by her angelically perfect face. All Ruby could see were her verdant green eyes._

" _You're fine, Ruby. You may be a tad reckless, but I don't have to worry about you dragging your team into things they can't handle, I don't have to worry about you hurting other students or yourself, and I don't have to worry about your grades. You're fine."_

" _B-But-but-" She was about to point out all the ways in which this statement was contradicted, but was dismissed by Glynda waving her hand as she sat back in her chair, as if that hand were her riding crop and she just put back all the broken pieces of the girl scattered around her office._

" _You may be mistaken in your beliefs on the truth and might suffer if events prove you wrong." She shrugged. "Just as easily, you can prove what you've been trying to tell us all along and change the way we look at the world forever. I don't know and I don't care to speculate at this point. That's Ozpin's job. That's why he is so quick to go out on a limb with things- yes, like you, Mr. Arc, Ms. Belladonna to name a few. Someone like him deals with decades, centuries of planning and must sometimes make guesses based on what he knows or assumes." She shook her head in dismay. "This proves disastrous more than I'd like to admit, but there's a reason both he and I are still around._

" _Doubt is not necessarily a bad thing, even self-doubt. It's good that we stop and question things now and then, asking ourselves if what we are doing is truly the right thing. Especially with a reality which is constantly changing around us, it can be difficult to pinpoint exactly what the 'right' thing is. Harder still is putting it into actions which have any meaning."_

 _When talking she had closed her eyes, removing that distraction and concentrating on choosing her words to best convey meaning to the girl. Now she opened them, for these words were part of her own sense of right and wrong, and there was no second guessing._

" _But never, and I cannot stress this enough, never let it keep you from moving forward with your life, from taking action to change the things you cannot accept. Understand?" Ruby nodded, relieved and uplifted._

" _Good. Now then, that being said, there is the little matter of the test you walked out on…"_

 _Ruby gulped as the glasses were replaced and hardened those previously soft features, face leaning forward so the lamp cast a menacing glare across them and malevolent shadows danced like demons in the background._

" _This won't be happening again, will it?"_

" _No mam!"_

* * *

Another shiver wracked her as she realized it was getting cold. She got up and went over to the corner of the room, retrieving another log from the wood they had gathered and tossing it on the fire before sitting back down and staring out at the darkness, thinking nothing.

Letting come what may.

* * *

He'd fallen asleep with the image of a suspicious Weiss glancing back at him, and awoken to the feeling of Tenten gently shaking his shoulders. Yawning, he got himself up for the last watch of the night and first of the morn. He spared a glance to the sleeping Kumo shinobi who, despite the protesting, didn't seem to mind the extra bodies available for the unenviable task.

Although, he wouldn't put it past them to be awake even now.

Seeing how it was their last night in Fire Country, Tenten stayed up with him so they could talk for the trivial amount of time they had left. Low, idle chatter that he wouldn't remember as much as the event itself, which lasted well through the wee hours and into the full-blown dawn. Whereupon the rest of their train was quick to wake up and strike camp.

Whoever said that parting is sweet sorrow was full of shit.

At the Vally of the End they left him, with little protest and only a promise:

To return.

It was strange that he should watch them walk away and not the other way around, but many things about that valley seemed strange. A feeling like Yang described, perhaps. Of something not quite right, out of place, perhaps, out of time. Like this was not the end, but the beginning. Or that it should, in fact, have been over many, many years ago.

"Shall we continue?"

"Just a sec." As the last glimpses of his friends passed out of sight, he turned back to his escort and focused in on the one who was objectively giving him the cold shoulder.

"Before we go any further, I have to know. What's your problem with me?"

"My problem?" Real surprise turned into feigned offence. Having looked, in fact, for just such an excuse. "My _problem_ is people who think the world revolves around them. You think that just 'cause you got some skills, that you can take on the world. But you know what? You're _nothing_. You hide behind your so-called friends who are nothing but sycophants you use to justify your existence."

Naruto was silent while taking in this diatribe, surprise only shown when a few seconds of silence had passed, and it was clear she was done.

"Oh." And even then, it was mild. "Is that all?"

Mixed reactions from the onlookers morphed into disbelief at this simple blasé.

"I thought you might have been upset with me for something that actually mattered." He spoke with all earnest.

"You…Bastard!"

-Which was probably why it sounded like a slap in the face.

The attack was swift, but reckless, and would have been a simple matter for the team leader to diffuse if their principle didn't step in the way to catch the angered woman's blade.

"-The fuck? Did I say something wrong? Just tell me what the hell your problem really is!" Rather than struggle against the admittedly strong woman, he redirected her blade into the ground and hopped back before she could backhand him with her steel plated gloves.

"I told you that-!" "Quit lying!"

Outburst and scythe came out of nowhere, both blindsiding Karui as she made a dash for her sword and found the blunt beak of the weapon pressed underneath her chin.

"Quit lying." He repeated, looking down at her with something that might have been pity. "To me, and yourself. I just want to know so we can clear the air. Or, if not…" That ultimatum hung there along with a bead of sweat working its way down her bronze cheek.

"Uzumaki." Quiet until then, Samui approached half a step to let him know of her presence. Arms still folded and nowhere near her weapon, but the added bite in her icy tone was telling. He nodded, grateful, and lowered his scythe as she turned to her teammate. "Well?"

Any betrayal was quickly replaced by the same acidity as before when she refocused on the blond, growling at him but making no move to get any closer or even to retrieve her weapon.

"Dammit! How come you guys aren't pissed? It's this bastard's self-righteousness that got Yugito-nii killed!"

"Oh." Softer than before and no longer able to meet her snarling gaze. "I understand."

"Fuck you!" Spitting like a viper, she took a step towards him along with her teammates who were ready to step in should it be anything more than that. "She was like a sister to me! How **dare** you say you understand what it feels like!"

"Okay," A deep breath was able to recall some of his composure. "So I don't understand. I didn't grow up with her like you, so I can't fathom how it feels. I will never know the grief I caused you."

To the surprise of Samui and Omoi, it was Naruto who made the first move, walking towards the imbedded katana and extracting it, taking but a glance before proffering it with the handle to the mystified owner. Karui didn't remain in her stunned state for long and was too eager to capitalize on this gift being given to her. She made to snatch it but was pulled in close as Naruto's hand stayed latched to the blade. Before she could release at was patently a trap, his other hand clamped down on hers, keeping it there as he leaned in close so the metal plates on their forehead clinked like wine glasses.

"It's also safe to say you'll never understand me." Past clenched teeth he whispered. "Unlike you, I didn't **get** the chance to know her, and now I'll **never** get that chance." Blood ran down the cutting edge and dribbled down between her toes as his fist clenched down ever harder on the blade. "- But at the same time, I have no **choice** but to love her as if I did because of a burden neither of us asked for. Do you understand how _**that**_ feels? To not even know the **reason** why you possess that incredible feeling but to know that you're the cause for it ending. To live with the regret of your mistake for the rest of your life. You want an inkling of how it feels?"

Against her will the blade jerked up so that the tip rested just underneath his heart.

"You want it? Go ahead."

Two other blades were already drawn and closing in by the time the battle-cry rang out over the Valley of the End, drowned by the unfathomable mass of water crashing down on the rocks day after day.

Naruto stumbled backwards and tripped as he held his bloody nose, Karui standing over him panting and staring at her unarmed hand. Omoi and Samui stood by with weapons at the side, unsure at first of what to do but slowly approaching their teammate and prying the katana from her straining hand. Passively she let them, settling instead for trying to reconnect with her appendage.

"Ah, fuck!" All of a sudden breaking out of her stupor, wrist flopping back and forth and hopping up and down in agony. "Your head is bloody hard!"

"Heh, heh, yeah," Chuckling and with one arm to his face, he lifted himself off the ground. Patting off the dust, he just as casually snapped his crooked nose back into place and wiped off the remaining blood. "I've been told that."

Shaking their heads in disbelief, the other two turned towards their compatriot, presumably to give a quick redress and thankfully giving him a moment to himself where he patted the fresh tear in his flak vest right under his heart.

"Sorry Ruby." He whispered, hoping she would understand.

Who was he kidding? Of course she would. She was just as reckless.

"Alright," Samui sighed, drawing him back into the circle. "Are you still comfortable being escorted by us, or should I have the Raikage send another team?"

"Nah, we've wasted enough time already." Naruto waved her off. "'Sides, I don't want to have to start all over with a new batch." Better the devil you know…

Though by now, if a devil himself were to pop up and declare the boy part of his inner circle, the three shinobi from Kumogakure might be less than surprised. It now made sense why this quirky teen was surrounded by so many seemingly ready to lay down their lives for his cause.

Unwittingly joining in this merry band, each still hoped that it wouldn't come to that.

"Right, onward we go."

* * *

"This is nice, right?"

Several short yells preempting just as many thrusts. The weightless sound of a blade whooshing through the air, as well as the heavy sound of meaty resistance.

"Just the four of us, finally getting some team practice in before the tournament."

Several cracks, whip and gunshot simultaneously. Sharp and hollow both, pinging ricochet off rock like the school bells they had left far behind.

"No classes, no tests, no heists, no White Fang. No _drama_."

Slap as flesh met flesh, as flesh met metal the crackling of bone caving, puncturing. Blast of a shotgun ringing out like thunder from the gray clouds fast approaching.

"…Are any of you even listening to me?"

A grunt of effort as Yang stopped a charging Boarbatusk easily six times her size, hands on its namesake and heel planted in the ground, she arrested its movement. Deciding that simply killing them was not much of a challenge, she faced the beast mono-e-mono… or whatever the word for 'tusk' was. With a primal cry that had several lesser beats turning their heads in attention, she flipped the monster on its back and delivered a through punch to its exposed throat, collapsing the windpipe. Still able enough to squeal in pain, she didn't stop hitting until it couldn't.

"Sorry," Blowing a stray lock out of her face, Yang stood back up and used her blackened hand to pick at her ear. "You say something?"

"Hmph! Barbarian."

Weiss scoffed without any venom, dispatching a Beowulf that was attempting to sneak up behind her when she wasn't looking. She too was not feeling the effort of slaying these inferior Grimm and was honestly trying to strike up a conversation because she could- because she was _that_ bored.

At least, that's what she told herself. What she was trying to convince herself of.

"Would you rather be doing something excessively stupid and dangerous?" Sarcasm easily detected behind a voice that was barely winded, Blake landed on point after an airborne pirouette which succeeded in plucking three adolescent Nevermore out of the sky. "I for one am glad that we haven't run into any complications- Yet." Adding the last part after her partner shot a look of upset across the glen.

"I know! Easy job, close to home, excellent compensation… can you believe Ozpin just handed us this choice mission?" Gushing both approval and ice from a glyph beneath her feet.

"No." Yang said simply- as simple as her fist reaching out and blasting a feline Grimm trying to pounce on her. "No, I can't."

Weiss looked ready to protest, but instead, snapped her open mouth with a click that was audible in the relative silence of the aftermath.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Taking the breather to look out at the dark and imposing woods which even now felt like a mere cardboard backdrop. "The mission was ranked high priority, even if it was posted a few weeks ago. Supposedly Goodwitch allowed us to take it because we're the most experienced of the first-years. But even if she or Ozpin wanted to give us a break after the last one… I don't think either one would fiddle with the mission parameters like that. One mistake could cost a less competent team their careers."

"-Or their lives." With this thought, Yang suddenly whipped around, searching. "Where's Ruby?!"

"Over there." Blake jerked her thumb lazily towards a coppice actively being felled by something quite large and destructive. "Having fun, by the sounds of it."

What looked like a tornado of crimson leaves suddenly drilled into the grass ahead of them, dissipating to reveal a hooded and crouched huntress still with her borrowed sword strapped to her back. Before anyone had time to comment on this, a tidal wave of destruction came barreling through the bramble, knocking aside the woods like a curtain of beads as it hobbled in all its titanic glory. Crashing to a halt, the Alpha Berengel stood up to its fill height, easily topping the trees and beat an earth-shaking roar from its chest.

The cry gave them goosebumps, rattled the laves on branches and knocked the birds from their nests- but did not succeed in so much as ruffling the warrior's cloak.

She did not even move when the arm smashed into the ground with all the force of a locomotive.

Petals and wool swirling about her, she reappeared on its shoulder, a strike already flying towards its eye clenched in irritation from the airborne debris.

It might as well have been a mosquito from what things looked like on the ground. But true to this analogy, where once there had been but one annoying gnat, suddenly there were dozens swarming the beast all over and the petals flew through the air like rain in a typhoon.

Mouths agape as if they were trying to catch those falling flowers like snowflakes, her team watched this incredible happening with the feeling that they were in a shared dream.

The smell wafting from the gorilla-creature's mouth quickly dissuaded them of this.

While at the same time cursing her olfactory senses, Blake's enhanced abilities did allow her to pick out another detail to better illuminate the confounding battle.

"She's not duplicating herself." Amber eyes plucked details from that darkness, witnessing the displacement of the petals moving in chaotic currents back and forth, trapped in an invisible container. "She's simply moving that fast."

There was nothing simple about it, her teammates no doubt thought. Afterimages the eyes could hardly track blinked in and out of existence around the Alpha like embers from a firework, each one singing just a little more of its flesh.

It bellowed and writhed in protest of this pestering little mosquito that was rapidly sucking it dry of every ounce of restraint it had left. Swiping to and froe at everywhere and everything- and then nothing. Ruby had vanished.

Then like a weed that sprouted out of this confused beast's head, the hooded figure rose up from the back of its neck with an open hand raised to the moon, seemingly trying to wrangle the individual pieces and bring down the entirety of their wrath on her enemy.

In a way, it could be said that is what happened.

When her hand touched the beast's mask it shattered identically to the lunar sphere. And with no horizon to hold it aloft, the pieces went everywhere, the flesh as black as night dissolving into nothingness, dispelling the dream.

Padding up to her team caught between bemusement and awe, Ruby lowered her cowl and shook the stray twigs which had gotten caught in her hair. _Crocea Mors_ weighing uncomfortably on her back, she adjusted the leather strap which was way too long and gave a lopsided grin.

"Glad to see _someone's_ having fun."

Evening out her smile, she turned to her partner. "I'm making do."

Light words, reckless actions and flippant tone were for the benefit of others, while inside she still sat perched on the balls of her feet, never quite relaxed from the tension which prickled on her skin.

It might have been this feeling which allowed her to accept her friend's weapon, made her doubt even now that things would be easy enough for her bare hands alone.

While yet there was that foreboding like a creeping fog, where were all the Grimm?

* * *

Where were the complications, the danger? Their luck was never this good.

A trip across the Elemental Nations, while not typical, was accomplished routinely. Nothing about either Naruto or Ruby was routine, however, and the fact that nothing had happened on either front was a sure as sign as any that something big was about to go down.

Call it pessimism, but even if it weren't in the back of his mind he would have noted something off. Confident that he was unbiased by Ruby's situation, he had to agree that the feeling was similar. Direction felt aimless, the scenery which whizzed by no more than a hand-painted backdrop for an elaborate production.

It almost felt like a Genjutsu. And if he were not so confident in the Kyu- in _Kurama's_ abilities to dispel it, he would have sat down in a field and tried himself until he succeeded. However futile that might have been.

Futile as well was keeping his thoughts solely on this suspicion. He had confidence the Kumo shinobi were on his side. Even before he removed **that** factor from the atmosphere, he had suspected that Karui wouldn't want to do him in- hence why he stood by his prior decision. It was the same innate confidence which he entrusted his tenant- his partner. For even if their bond was strained, it would not be so if it weren't still there.

In the wake of this mantra he kept repeating to himself, there was only silence. Rather, there had been…

' _ **On your left!'**_

The barking growl gave him enough time to deploy his scythe and take up a defensive position while in mid-leap. No time even to land, though, as his attacker burst forth from the canopy to strike him while he couldn't maneuver.

Maybe he could have, if he had been more aware. Fool. He shouldn't have been so easily surprised.

It was his second time staring into the mouth of this creature, after all.

 _Radiant Thorn_ braced in front, staving off two fangs of equal menace as the giant viper lashed out at him. It slammed him into a tree, plummeting through that and back into the open air where the highly intelligent creature recoiled slightly, allowing it to try again in swallowing its pray. Jaws of incalculable pressure snapped shut.

Around nothing. Popping out atop it's scaled head, Naruto skated up the spine. Hooking the tip under those scales he dragged his weapon behind him like a hoe, ripping up armor plating and causing the beast to howl in anger.

Dispelling before it could sustain any more damage, the summon retreated back to its home in a fog-bank of smoke.

Naruto fell now with nothing to hold him aloft once again. Susceptible then to the attack which came from the giant blind spot.

The Fourth Hōkage- his father, was quoted as being the fastest man alive. Some said the fastest in history, bar none. Until him, that is. Mastering the modus of this speed, he never ceased to push that boundary past every barrier. Past the clock, past sound, past sight, past himself- though never more than his Other he admitted, proud and chagrinned both.

Never as fast as he wanted, which would allow him to turn back the clock and leapfrog all his mistakes before they happened. Go back to when that sword wasn't sticking out of his abdomen, just underneath the armor plating of his flack vest.

"Ku, ku, ku, long time no see, Naruto-kun."

Even with that inhibition pinning him to the tree, he tried to lash out at the Snake Sanin, scythe swung with one hand at that pale face with its cancerous smile.

Orochimaru lazily leaned back, tongue still wrapped around the hilt of _Kusanagi_. He even had the gall to chuckle at the attempt before he restrained the appendage with a tangle of serpents- the boy's other hand with a kunai through the palm.

"Oh my, that's quite impressive." Wormy fingers fondling the neat incision his sword had created, hardly even bleeding yet as the metal stemmed the wound. "You were such a vocal brat when we last met. You've matured quite nicely I'd say." Fingernails slipped underneath flesh, prying and probing into his gut as if he were trying to manually extract his Tailed Beast. "Amazing! Not a scream, not even a cry, just that lovely look."

Bloody hand extracted, he cupped Naruto's chin, staining those whicker marks so that he could better gaze into the boy's hateful stare. Closer he pressed his insidious visage, delving into those blue oceans to swim in the wrath that they held.

"I wonder what precipitated this maturity? What changed? Your trip with the Toad? A fight? The loss of a loved one? Mmm, could be, could be. You see Naruto, no one changes without cause. I suppose you might call it a hobby for me to guess the causes for attitudes in humans- everything else is far too easy. But humans, ah humans are something… magical."

Something caused Naruto's eyes to flick to the side and the Snake followed them, not before flicking his wrist to the right to unleash another writhing mass of serpents which quickly sought out this disturbance to his fun.

The lighting bolt came from the left though, blasting its way towards the missing-nin who stood with his back turned in total calm. Just as it was about to impact though, it dispersed in a spiderweb of tendrils going every which way around the man and his prisoner. The reason became obvious as the Faraday cage of steel wire around him burst and crackled with the strain of electric potential running through it.

"Orochimaru of the Sanin!" Interrupting his evil-villain monologue were Naruto's escorts, a little late but not unappreciated.

"You see? Just like this." Speaking to Naruto, he continued unfettered by this intrusion. "You have this habit of changing things far more than should be possible. Not just things, but people."

"Don't ignore us!"

Karui appeared by his side, sword already halfway to home in its swing. Not braking his staring contest with the pinned blond, Orochimaru removed his sword to block the Kumo kunoichi's strike.

"Ku, ku, ku. Good try, not very wise though." He indicated Naruto who was now only being held up by the kunai in his palm and the knot of snakes around the other, stomach wound flowing freely. "I was under the impression that you had reconciled… or did I give the boy too much credit?"

"I think you give us too little."

The cold reply came as Samui's blade severed the serpentine bindings, allowing Naruto to jerk his now free arm to the last remaining obstacle.

His hand was already on the ring when Karui's sword pierced his wrist, pinning both to the tree. Naruto let out a cry that was both anguish and frustration as the redhead stood on the branch in mute horror, her wrist wrapped up in the unnaturally prehensile tongue of the Sanin which forced her to make the blow.

Her shock lasted until it was struck violently from her face, stomach caving in and air forced out of her lungs through her lips. She was sent careening, right towards where Omoi was trying to sneak up and rescue their principle.

 _Kusanagi_ blocked along the Snake's spine, stanching Samui's strike as his tongue whipped Karui's dropped blade around to force the Kumo ninja to back off. This wasn't the extent of it however, as the tongue released the weapon to allow a torrent of flame to slide along it, expanding into a dragon which engulfed both the blonde and the entire quarter of the woods which faced them.

"I think you'll find I am a very good judge of character." Orochimaru laughed, turning back to his captive, who was going at the kunai with his teeth, unable to give up. He smiled cruelly at this sight. "Which is why I am so confounded by you, Naruto-kun." Grabbing a fistful of blond hair, he pulled the boy's ear back close to his mouth where he began to speak hot and fast.

"Unwittingly or otherwise you have stymied my goals time and again. I wonder to this day what you said to Sasuke-kun to change his mind. All of my vast knowledge has shown that people don't evolve on words alone. They need a life-changing, maybe even shall we say… _other-worldly_ experience."

Naruto stopped struggling, his bile rising to through his throat and into his heart as a desperate fear and hatred overcame him consecutively.

"Ku, ku, ku, you see, a little birdy left me a _very_ interesting note. Now, not only was the source itself a surprise, but what it contained was so amazing as to be unbelievable. So, naturally I had to go and see for myself. Now, I think I'm convinced, but I still need to find out…" The urgent mule-kick that the youth sent out was easily intercepted, Orochimaru binding his legs with his own "What sort of things are going on inside your head? Another whole universe of experience! Imagine, other worlds, so much knowledge, so much to live for…"

"FUCK YOU CREEP!"

So busy restraining his captive, Orochimaru couldn't extract himself in time when he, the tree, and the boy pinned to it were torn to shreds by a torrent of wind flooding the woods. So thick it was like a deluge, the spiteful fluid eradicated everything in its path, shoving trees aside like blades of grass and carving a new riverbed far at the base.

Naruto landed next to it on the ground, panting as he picked his way to his weapon which was still imbedded tip-down into the earth.

Hand poised above the knurled handle, his eyes widened, and he jerked back as if stung. The slight curve at the end which served for added leverage turned into a hand which reached out to grab for him.

Jabbing his thumb into the very real- but shallow- stomach wound, he dispelled the illusion just in time to feel a pair of hands grabbing him by his ankles and drag him down. He flashed back to his scythe and with a flick of his wrist tore up another furrow towards the buried shinobi. A white snake burst forth before the blade of compressed wind could uproot it, and it lunged at Naruto.

Using the same Hiraishin kunai he planted earlier to escape the near-fatal stab, he appeared behind the snake and threw his weapon in an attempt to behead the creature. The fact that he succeeded in doing so was more surprising than when another snake shot out of the gullet of the other, slithering off and disappearing into the trees.

Quickly flickering back over to _Radiant Thorn_ , he summarily let loose a handful of his specially tagged kunai seemingly at random into the woods.

"Uzumaki!" Having to dodge one of these weapons, a re-armed Karui jumped down into the small and recent clearing, followed shortly by her other two teammates. "What the- just what the fuck was that?!"

Naruto cocked his head. "Which part?"

Stifling her teammate's sputtering attempt to form a rational sentence with a hand on her shoulder, Samui spoke for her allies.

"Why don't we start with Orochimaru and go from there."

He shrugged, not opposed even if had been more of a command than question.

"Dunno why he's here now, but he want's something from me." Samui narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

"Your tailed beast?" Not surprised in the least that they knew, he still had to shake his head.

"I don't think so. Orochimaru was in Akatsuki at one time, but with most of their members dead I don't think he'd go after me just to appease a dead organization."

"Then wha-"

"I wanna know how you're still alive. Also- why'd you try and skewer me?!"

All it took to remind the incensed redhead that **she** had in fact stabbed him and tried to once before, was a deadpan stare which cowed her until Omoi broke the silence.

"It was a blood-clone, wasn't it?" Breaking the stare much to Karui's relief, Naruto nodded. "Mm. I've heard the rumor that you could use those."

"I'm getting better at holding them for longer, but it takes a **lot** out of me."

"Will you be alright?" The team leader asked, prompting Naruto to look out into the woods.

"Better question is if you guys are. It's not over."

While there had been some clarification for the rapid-fire series of events, time for Q&A was over and everyone realized it soon enough to scatter when an eruption of flame and mud spewed from the ground beneath them.

"I really have to hand it to you Naruto-kun." Stepping out of the spout of the mud-volcano, Orochimaru looked only slightly worse for the wear. And their bias was only because of the sparse patches of scales on face and hands gave him a more sickly, reptilian look than he already sported. "You are infinitely more devious than I gave you credit for. Although…"

A flash of light sped past, bisecting the man to reveal a mud-clone. The white snake pounced from the canopy to tear into a tree, swallowing with the wood one of the sealed kunai planted there. Nearly also nabbing its owner who had to quickly flash to another to avoid the same fate.

"Perhapsss you have alwaysss been this deceptive." The snake hissed, coiling contentedly around the trunk of the chewed-up tree as the top part began to list, breaking off with a snap during which it lunged at him again.

"You kept thisss sssecret for your entire life… never trusting anyone…" What seemed like a flick of its tail sent an ancient arbor careening towards him which Naruto also treated with little effort. "How very smart. You never know when sssomeone is going to betray that trussst. Then again, isssn't always within human nature to fail? Should we not expect it to happen sssooner or later? Fear, after all, isss within each of us. And what do people fear more than what they do not understand?"

"You have really shitty bad-guy banter, you know that?" Naruto snarked, talking big out of habit. Already, the incipient thought made him wonder if he could trust on his 'partner' to back him up this time, and if he could defeat Orochimaru without him. "First of all, you can hardly speak for any of us humans- I mean, look at you! Secondly, you have no idea what's going on inside my head, and I think that gives _me_ the advantage."

Sliding on its stomach, flittering in and out of trees the snake suddenly disappeared and Naruto felt instinct jerk his arm upwards just as the blade of _Kusanagi_ descended upon him. _Radiant Thorn_ batted the smaller blade away, only for an elongate neck to take its place, sharp fangs attempting to skewer him.

Aiming and missing with the butt of his scythe, he backpedaled until he was up against a tree, ready to sprint either way, or even to flash out of harm's way if necessary. But Orochimaru returned his neck to its usual place and resumed calmly walking towards him, stopping well short.

"Really Naruto-kun, it's hurtful that you don't think of me as human. Appearances, as you know, can be deceiving."

"I hear words, but you'd be better off stuffing a hamster in it because it's all gibberish!"

"Really, if you think about it, I am the most human out of both of us. I recognize my flaws, my mortality, which is why I wish to surmount them. But never have I desired anything but a human world, one of hate, jealousy, compassion, love, all the little reactions which make us who we are. Unlike you, who wishes to change all that, decries anyone who can't meet up to your standards of perfection. Isn't that right?"

"Nope."

"No?" Orochimaru was both take aback and amused. "That's it?"

"Nope." A manic grin threatening to split his face. "As in: snakes are Nope-Rope, and that means anything about you is just a big-'ol 'Nope'."

"Ku, ku, ku, such an amusing insult. Did you think of that one all by yourself, or did _She_ help you?"

With a simple curling of the lips, that Cheshire smile became a tiger's snarl as hackles raised jagged red spikes of energy from his bristling skin.

" **Who told you?!** "

Dancing around the topic for so long, he could still assume it wasn't that, he could still deny it, pretend he hadn't heard right.

"Who do you think?"

At yet this- this- this- _**thing**_ , wanted to keep playing the game, keep torturing him. Well, we would show him-

' _ **No- wait. Just a minute- just a second. He doesn't deserve- doesn't deserve to live! Musn't fall to his bait. Naruto- Naruto, listen- no! Speak! Don't let my chakra influence you- you're still you, I'm not- I'm not-'**_

Hatred breeding hatred, a fearsome downwards spiral. Truly, humans bring out the best and the worst in everyone. Thankfully, one caught it before it was too late.

" _I hear ya."_ Restraint, forcing that red energy like sea-urchin spines into something akin to a shaggy carpet. _"…Kurama."_

Seeing that he needed to push more, Orochimaru dared take a step forward to draw on his still present heightened emotions, and continued talking.

"Who do you think betrayed you? It would be interesting to parse through your deepest suspicions, but maybe it would be easier to think it through… logically. I care little for that inhuman beast in your stomach as only something less than a curiosity. But some fear it, some would view it as a dangerous thing to keep around. Especially with as many… questions about your mental health which might arise should certain facts slip. Now, I wonder who deals with that sort of thing, the mental health of shinobi, secrets that could potentially compromise a powerful Jinchῡriki…?"

He should have listened to his partner- and not listened to this maniacal conspirator. But inside, there was a part of him he knew wanted this- wanted to confirm the worst he had suspected all along. A hypocritical urge, indulging in that self-harming mistrust for all the failings he had made.

"Doesn't it seem strange that you would be left all alone with three shinobi from another nation, one of whom hates you with every fiber of her being? Not only that, but the most wanted man in the Elemental Nations was able to track you down so easily, without any resistance. Weird, isn't it, how they are not here now to protect you? Or- I guess it doesn't seem so strange, not if you just make one measly little concession…"

" _Shut up._ "

"Occam's Razor, have you ever heard of this? I imagine they have their own versions in other worlds because it is an immutable principle of truth: All things being equal, the simplest answer tends to be the right one."

Which was simpler, though? Assuming the others and Kurama were misleading him, or assuming he was deluding himself?

"On second thought, keep talking."

"This world of conspiracies that you have woven for yourself, held together simply by bits of string- what?"

"I said, keep talking." Planting the head of _Radiant Thorn_ on the ground, he leaned on the haft as the cloak around him became more literal, flowing, calm and liquid, rather than the near-explosion it once was. "This is just getting good. You're going to tell me now it was Jiraiya- ooh! Or better yet, Granny-Tsunade who sold me out, right? To you, of all people… right."

He burst out laughing, a sound which disseminated through the trees and parted around the palpable ire of the Snake Sanin who stood there as if all this were expected- bar a slight twitch in his jaundiced eye.

"For someone with so much knowledge, how does it feel to be so stupid?" Naruto asked with a smile that was halfway a snarl, split right down the middle. "To learn, to plan, to think you know the right answer and then to be so… _wrong_."

A ripple ran over that liquid shroud, precursor to a storm, and Orochimaru felt the chill from it.

"If people like you are human, then I guess I don't feel at home in this world anymore." The surface became choppy, waves compiling into a tail, two, three… "If that's the case, then I'll just have to clean it up. Or at the worst, raze it to the ground and start over. Because this **is** my home…

"And I got guests coming over soon."

Doing a magnificent job of pretending that all was still going according to his plan, the Snake watched himself be surrounded by the Kumo shinobi with his characteristic unflappable demeanor. He had even prepped a water-jutsu to absorb the electrical attacks launched simultaneously from the three points of the triangle, ready to slip away under the resulting cloud of steam vapor.

In the Snake's mind, however, there was never any possibility of failure. There was no way this upstart little runt could foil him when he put his mind to it, and to the very last it is surely what he believed. Illustrating that even if he could shed his skin time and again, his ridged mind could not evolve to keep pace with the changing world.

That imperturbable expression shattered like the ground underneath his feet when a crimson claw burst forth and crushed him, his body deforming like putty underneath the awesome pressure. Like a balloon animal he burst, though, and from the shredded husk poured hundreds of serpents slithering between the fingers of another half-dozen claws emerging from beneath to capture them.

Naruto cursed the man's slyness, even as his escorts made busy by trying to exterminate all the individual targets which quickly darted back into the underbrush.

"Apologies, Uzumaki," Samui spoke for her team, releasing marble-sized balls of lightning from her fingertips. "We were delayed by his mud-clones."

"This guy is pretty hard to kill. I see why he is considered so dangerous, he must plan very far ahead." Omoi commented while using his own electrical skills imbued into his sword to fell another dozen snakes with a single blow.

"Tch! That's just another way to say he doesn't know when to give up." Careful not to chase the serpents too far from her group, Karui settled for picking off the stragglers one by one with her sword as they slithered between her feet. "Why the hell is he being so damned stubborn, anyway? What the hell does he want from you?"

"That's… something personal." Simply waiting for the next phase to begin, Naruto stood prepared and vigilant to the forest around them.

"Like hell-!" Silenced with a non-negotiable hand from her superior, Karui and Omoi fell into a loose formation next to one another at Samui's silent command while the Jōnin moved closer to her ward.

"Everyone is allowed to keep secrets, especially shinobi." She shot the younger blond a look out of the corner of her eye. "Reasons should not affect our ability to perform our duty."

Cold, yet comforting. Truth, yet still a lie. He had little doubt the crazed Sanin would love to dissect him given the chance, but the brash redhead raised a point with his determination. There was but one thing Naruto could think of which would be worth dying for- again and again.

Two somethings, rather, locked within a seal he kept over his heart. But Orochimaru shouldn't know about that- couldn't know about that as he had been ever so careful when taking them. Even if he hadn't exactly understood their power, it was the word of his partner and he had no choice but to trust it.

' _ **I do not know this… thing's motives. But whatever happens, you must not let him have them. Believe me when I say there is a reason, just as I asked you to take them in the first place.'**_

Faith is blind, that's what makes it so easy to trip over and break.

"This is becoming boring, a good match needs competitors willing to participate." Fractionated voice echoing all around them from the shadows. "Let's change the game, shall we?"

Samui was quick to cover Naruto who was able enough to fend for himself when roots shot out at the both of them and descended from the canopy like a cage. A vermillion pedestal shot the two skyward and allowed Naruto to prune the branches before they could so much as touch them.

"Since when did the Sanin have the ability to perform Mokuton?!" In another time, Naruto might have been happy to see a chink in the cold woman's jaded exterior, but he too was disturbed and upset by the recent development.

Not given a chance to think about it for long, however, as a gust of wind smacked into them and threatened to tear them apart. Before the Kumo-nin could perform a lightning technique to mitigate the gale, Naruto reached out to flash the both of them to the ground where the gust was but a breeze.

"He's trying to separate us!" The moment the teen had grabbed her hand struck an epiphany in Samui's head, and she immediately scanned the area to look for her other two teammates.

"Ku, ku, ku, well, perhaps 'willing' isn't exactly the right word." Dripping with irony and malice, as well as a small trickle of blood that flowed from Karui's neck from where the edge of _Kusanagi_ pressed against her jugular. "But then again, this is still a test for you, Naruto-kun, and this girl here is merely a means to an end."

"Bastard-" She hissed as the blade pressed a little further into her chocolate skin, exposing the soft pink flesh underneath.

"Ah, ah, ah, pieces can't talk." The Snake warned even as he regarded her quivering hand still clasping her blade with amusement. "So, let's find out how much she is worth, hm, and in doing so, what makes you tick? Someone you hardly even know, who holds such animosity. I have a suspicion that even then, you would waste your life on someone like this, but that's not truly what's at stake here, is it? So how about it, are you willing to sacrifice both of you? How many more? Not just a single world, two lay on the balance right now, and I will give you the choice to pick one with the added bonus of this girl if you can give me a satisfactory answer."

A heavy and ethereal wind billowed his living shroud, oscillated between fanning the flames and putting them out as he struggled with this unfair choice. The handle of _Radiant Thorn_ strained under his grip, the otherworldly metal refusing to give even then.

"Uzumaki," Samui susurrated urgently, "I don't understand whatever nonsense he's talking about, but you can't believe him, he's not going to let Karui go- you understand that right?" Not taking her eyes off her comrade, she repressed an involuntary wince as the Sanin dug a finger into her back trying to force the woman of her own volition against the sword. Defiant of both kinds of pressure being put on her, the woman gnashed her teeth and bore through it.

"Tick tock, she's not going to be able to tell you what you think. So what's _your_ answer?"

"You're insane." Naruto said, himself not looking away from the panicked obstinance locked in her eyes. "I fully admit that I'm weird, different, but I still have no bloody idea what you're talking about."

"So predictable," Orochimaru lamented with only the barest hints of actual disappointment. "I guess in the end you aren't really that different, fear still dictates your actions. But, with all that experience you should know by now you will lose everything. I promise that I will take it from you piece by piece. Your friends, your demon, your soulmate- but not before that Rinnegan you have sealed away in your chest which I will use to accomplish it all, to remind you that it was all your fault and you could have prevented it from the beginning-"

Abruptly the Sanin cut off as if noticing for the first time something particularly perplexing, his face stricken with a curiosity which belied the blade which pierced him through the heart.

"You're not-" Karui formed a shaky hand seal, reserving her strength for keeping her words steady along with her sword which plunged through her stomach and up into villain. "-Someone like you's not even worth my _contempt_."

With that said, the man was shocked quite literally as what must have been tens of thousands of amps coursed through the blade which connected them, Karui feeling little backlash from her own technique as only small tendrils leapt off his frying carcass and singed her.

As if this had been the plan all along, the other two rushed the man and launched their own coordinated attack, Omoi's water jutsu enhancing the lingering charge and knocking the man away from his teammate. Rather than go for a killing blow (which probably wouldn't work anyway) Samui targeted _Kusanagi_ , severing the bond between it and its master by the wrist and kicking both blade and hand far away towards Naruto who remained flabbergasted.

"K-Karui!"

About to rush towards the downed kunoichi who was careful even when falling to make sure she did not exacerbate her self-inflicted injury, Naruto was intercepted by Samui who had reapplied her fearsome disposition.

"Leave her to us."

"Yeah, despite how it looks, she's not dumb enough to hit anything vital- Oi! You almost stabbed my toe!"

"Yeah, well that's not _vital_ is it?" Karui hissed, leaning on the Kunai she had lashed out with at Omoi's foot, other hand stabilizing the sword running up through her body and narrowly missing her spine.

"Go, Uzumaki," Even when lacking authority, her order carried immense weight. "It's clear we'll just hold you back. Reimburse us by finishing this."

Not needing to be told twice, a resurgence of energy exploded out of him as he took off in a rosy flash, catching only a single parting word amidst the hypersonic crack.

"Baka."

Who said it was lost, who it was meant for didn't matter. They were all fools, time and life making them so. None for so than him, but he wouldn't have it any other way. Orochimaru, on the other hand- his time was up long ago.

A single swing of his weapon swept across the ground, felling everything that stood before it in a crescent arc like the minute hand on a clock. He caught the form of the white snake darting through the falling jacks to avoid getting crushed like the worm he was.

Following the pull of one of his Hiraishin kunai planted earlier, he flashed onto a massive trunk already toppled 45 degrees and right underneath the reptilian Sanin. Slit eyes glanced back at him, but it was because the monster knew it could escape, disappearing into the ground the moment he flittered out of sight.

Naruto hadn't managed to replenish his Hiraishin tags since fighting Pain, and begrudgingly admitted that he would be outpaced at a flat-out race. Snakes were nothing but muscle anyway and he was sure that with the biological enhancements the sicko had already made on himself that his form was a pinnacle of physicality. He wouldn't win a battle of attrition with body-flicker.

Taking this frustration, this feeling of impotence and uselessness he turned it on its head like he did with everything. If he couldn't catch up to the slippery snake, he would make it come to him.

It was with great reluctance he would admit being thankful to Jiraiya for at least one thing. It had been the pervert who revealed to him the incomplete status of the Rasengan, as even Kurama hadn't known. Not a whole lot of time had been devoted to finishing his father's technique, but the first step was all he would need.

Better late than never.

With his partner helping to isolate and mold his wind-nature chakra, it was a simple matter to imbue it to a preformed Rasengan. Slightly harder to move it to through the shaft of his scythe, but the metal seemed accepting enough of the energy and allowed it to flow freely, dispersing the drill into a fan blade.

The only thing left was power, which he had in abundance.

He closed his eyes, better to concentrate on maintaining the man-made tornado and because it was so large he couldn't see past it anyway. Besides, he could feel what was going on inside his personal wind tunnel, every bit of debris being picked up and being smashed to bits against the side.

That bloody spiral must have eclipsed the sky like a sunset, brought a little bit of Remnant to the Elemental Nations as it turned the lowlands of Lightning Country into Forever Fall for all of three minutes.

It was all he could maintain. Even with the extra chakra flowing through him, his body couldn't handle the strain so soon after using it before. Thankfully it had been enough.

Before he even released the technique, the great white snake lunged through the gale-force winds, unbidden by its scales being torn off and the shattered branches pelting it, its sights solely on the blond nuisance.

No- Naruto was far beyond a nuisance, he was a problem child.

He managed to cut straight through the Rashomon gate summoned to intercept his prepared blow, but it was enough of a delay for the white shake to skirt around and attack at the boy's unguarded side.

Reminiscent of that Gryphon oh so long ago, Naruto wedged _Radiant Thorn_ between the jaws of the beast. Learning from Ruby's juvenile mistake as well as his own, he didn't try to struggle with the physically stronger opponent and instead leapt onto its neck, again in an imitation of her- just an older her which recently slew an Alpha Berengel.

That was where the similarities ended, lacking the speed semblance as well as the serenity from an easy kill, he stuck his feet down to the creature and unloaded everything he had. Swirling spiral in each hand, he drilled into the beast's back hoping to plunge into his most coveted brain.

In another life, he might have simply been content to leave the deranged Sanin alone. But he had decided to mess with his precious people, and that was unacceptable in Naruto's book. This was the change Orochimaru was looking for- the cause which made Naruto turn the situation on its head and become the predator rather than the prey.

Seeking reason in real life, as has been stated, can be a futile endeavor. Sometimes things just happen.

Therefore, when the tables turned yet again and the serpent shed its skin underneath his twin drills, it was almost with boredom that he regarded the now eight-headed snake staring hungrily down at him. The hydra-like creature easily dwarfing its predecessor and rivaling the stature of boss-level summons hardly earning more than a cocked eyebrow and a:

"Seriously?"

" **Ku, ku, ku,"** Whereas in the guise of a man, the laughter was creepy, here it was just… well creep _ier_ **. "I am surprised that you managed to make me reveal this form, Naruto-kun. Very well, I shall honor you with my glorious visage before I make good on my promise."**

"Oh, come on! Can't you say anything original?! This is pretty much verbatim Extra-Terrestrial Monster-Hunter Pt.4!"

" **I was going to let you live your amusing existence a little while longer to see what you did with this quirk you have obtained,"** Continuing to ignore what to him sounded like nonsense, the four-by King Taiju blathered on. **"-But now I think you are perhaps a little too dangerous to let live. Too bad about that, I would have loved to see what sort of derangement exists in your head, not to mention the loss of the Rinnegan will be tragic. Ah well, I will settle for the Sharingan as planned, although, I suppose I am surprised that he told the truth about your abilities…"**

This last part intrigued Naruto a little, but he was more fixated on the fact that it wasn't quite like the comic he referenced. No power-up was coming in the form of a random comet from deep-space, nor would it be wise to rely on the power inside of him which would be just as likely to dissolve him from the inside out as help him against external threats.

Orochimaru was right about one thing, he wouldn't subject Ruby to that kind of torture, even if he would gladly take on all that pain himself redoubled.

But he was also all out of ideas. Retreat sounded like a perfectly reasonable option at this point.

The familiar tug of his remaining Hiraishin kunai was just a little too far away, a little too much time to concentrate on its presence in the back of his mind. The effort of trying distracted him enough for four of the eight heads to surround him on all sides, elemental attacks of lightning, wind, water, and fire forming in the gaping mouth of each.

Well, shoot.

While it wasn't a meteor that saved him, deliverance did come from the sky in the form of four needle-like swords envisioned as holy lightning descending to smite the affront to humanity. They nailed the jaws of each snake shut, allowing the swelling energy to be released in an enclosed container- aka the heads which erupted in a concert of seasons over his head.

"Hey, hey, little Reaper- don't you worry about no Creeper!"

With effortless coordination which belied his massive form, a large dark-skinned man fell from the heavens, grabbing his weapons as they were blasted towards him. He alighted with ridiculous grace next to Naruto just as he collapsed onto a knee.

"Man, you ain't looking so hot, so why don't you let me give it a shot? I'll take this snake down right? 'Cause man, I know you and we be tight!"

Comfortable in the ridiculousness of the situation, he met the smile of the man and tried to meet his eyes behind the dark shades he was wearing.

"…I honestly have no idea who you are or what you're saying," Tiredly he gave an apologetic smile. "…But I still think I can trust you." For even if he didn't know for certain, there was that familiar feeling creeping up again. The one which worms its way insidiously into our hearts before poisoning our minds.

He realized he loved the man, a brother that he had never met before.

In the meantime, the so-claimed 'Ultimate' form of Orochimaru had recovered, the eviscerated heads even regenerating with startling efficiency. "… And whatever you can do would be greatly appreciated."

"Don't worry little Jinchῡriki, just leave everything to me,"

Juggling the swords he just caught along with another four, the man suddenly took off far faster than a man of his size had any right to move. Appearing next to the monstrous snake he begun his assault. Attacking in what looked to be part unnatural synchronicity and part epileptic seizure, he juggled his eight swords between limbs, teeth, and what seemed to be feet at one point- it was too fast to even tell from where he sat. Despite the oddness of the moves, striking crippling blows to the creature which nevertheless shrugged them off.

"Just sit back and be prepared to say 'Wee!' because no one beats the one, the only, the Killer Bee, that's me! Fool, ya fool!"

This apparent invincibility didn't seem to bother 'the Killer Bee'- and so Naruto didn't let it bug him either. He was too tired, anyway.

In reality he had been tired for a long while, and it was only now that his burdens seemed lifted from his shoulders did he allow himself to realize it. So while Killer B emphatically took on Naruto's challenge in his stead, the young man himself leaned up against one of the few remaining trees and watched the diminuendo of violence with drooping eyelids. Vaguely he was aware of the other Kumo shinobi coming up next to him, of more streaming down from the mountain in the background like ants.

He just didn't care. People he believed in were on his side, and he just couldn't bring himself to care otherwise.


	33. Contiguity

**Can't stop here, this is bat country!**

* * *

"Damn it!"

Uncharacteristic- more than that, unfathomable words coming from her mouth. Anyone who but half knew her would find themselves wondering what strange world they crossed into as they passed the threshold into the dimly lit workshop. Second-guessing that it was her at all, and not some clever copy designed to fool and deceive.

But no, these words had no other source but herself, and this visceral world was as usual, almost too real.

Banishing it all with a sweep of her hand, parts and thoughts scattered throughout the cavernous room. The tinkling of metal as screws and other round objects she knew would later have to be collected rolled about on the floor like fish out of water.

Amidst the commotion, it wasn't that hard to hear when one of the pieces stopped cold.

"What's the matter, Kiddo?" The voice was so familiar, so ingrained in her psyche that she could feel his wry expression as he bent down to pick up the revolving chamber, weighing it like his words as he tossed them carelessly in his hand. "Forget how it all goes together? Do you at least remember the song I taught you? ~The firing pin's connected to the extractor, the extractors connected to the-"

"It's been a while."

Whether it was meant as an excuse or as a snipe, the result was just the same, making her uncle flinch and palm the scalloped cylinder. Delaying the inevitable, he sighed, turning over the milled hunk of metal, halfheartedly examining it.

"-But I imagine that's not the issue, huh?"

No. The knowledge of how to connect all those mismatched parts had never left her, the skill required to find solutions, make compromises, and force things that had no business ever being part of the same whole together was practically written in her DNA. Her hands working alone ought to know what to do even if her mind was confused.

Resistant though that chunk of fat between her ears might be, her body knew it needed a weapon. Just as her team wasn't complete without her friends, Naruto without the Kyῡbi, or the man behind her without an alcoholic beverage, she needed that inanimate piece to make her whole again.

What was the hang-up?

"The offer still stands, you know." Idle hands devoid of that omnipresent flask continued to fiddle with the object. "I don't mind loaning her out. Especially to… well, you know…"

 _Family_

It hurt that he still couldn't say it. On the other hand, could she even handle this conversation right now on top of her current struggles? Would that one word break her already tenuous restraint?

"No." No, she didn't know, or no, as in a declination? "That's not what I need right now."

Question still obviously unanswered, the man remained silent. In the awkward pause that followed, she mused that maybe social ineptitude was a more endemic disease as he seemingly remembered the object in his hands.

"Here." A careless toss and an equally careless catch without turning in her seat or even looking. "That's a valuable part. You should take better care of your things."

"Yeah," Agreeing absently, she read the markings on the near pristine cylinder by brail, tracing the iconic etched snowflake design with her thumb. "A weapon is an extension of ourselves, an extension of our soul." Setting it down next to its two-dimensional counterpart on the rough blueprints laid out in front of her, she began musing out loud the issue of this.

"What is the soul, though?" Too broad, not deserving of an answer. "It's like… my mind is going in one direction and my heart another. And maybe, my body not listening to either…" Again, reign it in. "I want it to represent myself, who I am, who I've _become_ _ **.**_ **"**

And the problem was that even after earning at last the acceptance she'd always desired, she didn't know what it was.

A snort echoed from behind her, seeming to make light of her problem.

"You're still Ruby." Qrow shoved his hands in his pockets, lest they become the devil's playthings. "I just wish I had realized that sooner…"

The second part whispered to himself, but like his hands which betrayed his listlessness, part of him wanted her to hear. Wanted her to accept this pitiful apology that was too little and far, far too late.

"It's okay." Turning around with a smile, broadening in response to the dumbfounded expression on her uncle's face. "I guess I'm still figuring that out myself."

"Look, Ruby," Hands clenching and unclenching in his pockets as they groped for a flask that was conspicuously absent. "I know I fu- _screwed_ up. Big time. I should've listened to you, I should've at least come to visit-"

"It's _alright_." Insisting wasn't enough, who could ever believe it? "I said that, didn't I? Besides, you did, remember?"

As often she'd gaze past the bars in her window to the outside where other birds flew unshackled by cages, every so often there would be a black pair of wings amongst the lot. Unlike the others, it would sit patiently on a branch just out of her reach, chained by its own volition to not partake in the frivolities and merely keep her company with its mysteriously cognizant red eyes.

Those same eyes now stared back with a raised eyebrow.

"Actually, are you _sure_ you're Ruby? You seem a little too sharp to be her…" Tone and shoulders deflated as he realized the poor taste of his own joke.

She still giggled though, a tad sorrowful and out of pity. Pity for herself, or for the man, it didn't seem to matter.

"Like I said, I'm still trying to figure out just who and what I am."

"That's more normal than you might think. There's plenty of adults who still have trouble with that question." Allowing one hand to roam free, it ran callused fingers through hair that hadn't been washed in days. "I only know who I am because I'm an alcoholic. Doesn't leave room for much else…"

Not for being a responsible brother, and not a decent uncle, certainly. Luckily, he seemed to manage multitasking as Ozpin's lackey whilst being shitfaced, so that worked out pretty well. In fact, he seemed to excel at it, and being sober for this long was taking a tole on his nerves.

"Even still, I want you to know Ruby that I'm always on your side, even if I make a mess of it sometimes."

It was odd seeing her aloof uncle so wounded and hopeful- disturbing even. To alleviate both, she cocked her head with lopsided smile so that the result was almost even.

"Sorry Uncle, no boys allowed."

Only two people would get the inside joke, and only one would giggle, but she figured she deserved at least a little fun at the man's expense. She shook her head to dismiss the confusion, looking down to another part which had migrated its way into her hands. The flaming heart emblem beaming back up at her.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know if that promise really means anything right now, seeing as I don't know which side I really fall on anymore. There's too much fog, too many questions which I know even Ozpin can't answer. But," Setting the bronzed grip back up on the table, she bent over to pick up another one of the pieces scattered over the concrete, the silky black ribbon flowing easily in her hands. "-You don't need to worry about me. I have people within reach that can help me find the way."

Considering the oddly mature words from the oddly mature girl in front of him, trying to decipher the history as laid down on the surface, and just where he could possibly fit between the cracks and fractures that were rapidly being filled in.

"You could help me pick up the pieces," She suggested sheepishly with a hand rubbing the back of her head. "-If you wanted to."

His old spot no longer existed, but she was offering a new place, or at least a place to start.

"Yeah, sure."

After doing so, he left her alone once again where she looked back to the mass of metal on the table and began fiddling again with the construction. Unhurriedly this time, weighing the individual components in her hands as Anubis or Peter at the Gates.

There would never again be another _Crescent Rose_ , just as there would never be another Ruby Rose.

Never was there a time when I did not exist

nor you nor these lords of men.

Neither will there be a time when we shall not exist;

we all exist from now on.

As the soul experiences in this body

childhood, youth, and old age,

so also it acquires another body;

the sage in this is not deluded.

* * *

"Hey, hey, think it's time to take a break? Stop 'cause we got someone who needs to be awake!"

Naruto wanted to protest vehemently, but that would require thinking and speaking, things he wasn't confident to take on right then. Instead he made his will known by groaning and nuzzling his way back into the warm and comfortable spot he had been apparently occupying for several hours.

"Ah!" Being dropped on his rear however was a surefire way to rectify that issue, words spewing forth from his mouth involuntarily. "What the hell?"

"Yo, this ain't a hotel and I ain't no steed. Just helping you 'cause you looked to be in need."

Despite the near incomprehensible language which had him juggling Japanese and English in his head for a few seconds, the crude awakening did in fact do a sufficient job of getting his mind kickstarted.

"Eh- sorry 'bout that." He rubbed his head with muddled chagrin, looking up at the burly man who was still smirking down on him.

"Really, B," The familiar voice and even more accustomed annoyed tone was invaluable in clearing the lingering fog from his mind. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't treat our client so carelessly. If anything were to happen to him, I'd have to report you to your brother." Craning his neck, he spied the familiar silhouette framed by the setting sun.

"Man, that's cold. I wasn't being that bold."

"In case you haven't noticed, cold is kind of Samui's M.O."

Ignoring both the man and her teammate who still lingered in the background, Samui leaned over the prone Jinchῡriki with something that might have been concern on a normal human. "Are you alright to walk, Uzumaki? Or do you still need to be carried?"

"No, no, I'm fine." Embarrassment had him struggle painfully to his feet, pride pretend to ignore the fact that he almost fell face flat when his knees threatened to give out from underneath him.

When he found himself almost steady, he looked up to see the appraising stare of the blonde team leader, obviously thankful he could move himself but keeping a watchful eye just in case.

Another pair of eyes watched him from the back of the lackadaisical swordsman, and he nearly toppled once again under Karui's scrutinizing gaze. But held admirably for the very same reason.

"Right," Samui nodded approvingly. "B is correct though, it would be better if you entered the village on your own two feet. It's bad enough that we have one casualty, but for a first impression it wouldn't look good."

It was only then that he noticed they had arrived at a pair of gates, what he presumed to be the entrance of Kumogakure. Blinking to banish the last vestiges of muddy sleep from his eyes, he regarded the white plastered posts practically carved into the jagged rock and the unadorned wood doors they suspended with a touch of amazement. It wasn't Konoha or even Vale, but it was different.

"Omoi, you go on ahead with Karui. We'll head to the Raikage to give our report."

While the sugar-loving man nodded, the redhead on his back scoffed. Clearly, she didn't like being treated like an invalid, and it actually made Naruto feel slightly better about the whole thing. If she could manage to keep an attitude like that, perhaps the injury was not as severe as he'd assumed.

"What're you looking at?" Under the sudden accusation he groped to find an appropriate answer. "Tch, let's just go already."

There was the briefest flash of a smile before she turned her head back into the scarf around her partner's neck and they took off, Naruto realizing only after that he had a similar expression on his own face as he watched them leave.

It was strange.

The looks he was getting, people turning their heads as he passed by to whisper amongst themselves. Not that he wasn't used to that in and of itself, between the Fox and his own eccentricities, he was always the subject of conversation around Konoha. There was just a foreignness within the faces which had nothing to do with the hue of their skin or rugged dress. He'd long since recognized that humans (and Faunus for that matter) were the same on every world, but here there was an implacable difference.

"Don't mean to pry, but I'm just that kind of guy." His peculiar savior brought Naruto back to the small group he traveled with. "Mr. Eight's just wondering what you did to make Foxy so sedate? He says you must be pretty amazing to take on Nine's fire a-blazing."

In the short time since he'd been introduced to Killer B, he'd grown somewhat used to the man's method of talking. Therefore, it wasn't the way the question was asked which gave him pause, but rather the fact that his fellow Jinchῡriki was being so blatant about their status in public.

"Um," He looked around to see the same volume of noise, unchanged since he'd last looked. "What?"

"Speaking for the Hachibi, apparently your Tailed Beast has chilled out since they last met." Samui supplied an objective translation. "I'm not sure you can rely on B's rhyming, but it would seem to me that this is quite the accomplishment."

"I don't know about that, Ku-the Fox was always kind enough to me…"

' _ **That's a pretty weak way of saying I've saved your ass more than once.'**_ Unfortunately, the teasing timbre to this statement was lost in the gruffness, and it was obvious Naruto was already uncomfortable with this attention directed to him. _**'Admittedly, I don't think I would have been quite so eager to help if you hadn't changed me so significantly. Still, I didn't really think I was THAT bad…'**_

Could this statement really be trusted though? Memories, so subjective, often fail us.

"I wouldn't know." Samui dismissed herself from being intermediary.

"Man, don't be so shy, that kind of thing ain't gonna fly! Gotta learn to smile, and with that their hearts beguile!" All this said with a broad grin which stretched his silvery-white beard across his tanned face like fresh snow covering a battlefield.

It was only as that joyous expression disseminated to the passing crowd that he realized he was not wearing his usually jubilant face, even the mask failing to deploy in this strange scenario.

Correcting this, he was even more shocked to find it returned in kind by strangers whom he'd never met.

"That's a better look for a hero, better that than fear, yo."

"Hero?" Glancing up to his savior with bemusement, he again felt the child as the man chuckled at his confusion. "Sure, I beat Pain, but I bet you would've been able to."

The hum was low and noncommittal, simple compared to the flamboyant poetry. But perhaps that's why it was so arresting.

"Maybe." Supplementing the sober part of the conversation, Samui proved a good foil for the exuberant man. "But that's not why you're seen in such a respectable light here in Kumo. It is because of your actions to rescue Nii Yugito from the Akatsuki."

In comparison, B's abstract speech made more sense to him than this bizarre statement.

"But I was the reason-"

"Doesn't matter." Something akin to a snap coming from the chill woman took him aback. Realizing this, she continued on in a much softer voice, eyes not meeting his as they continued to scan the crowd which were steadily become more excitable the further along in their walk they went. "The fact is that you mounted an operation on your own to rescue a ninja from a foreign nation. This single act went a long way into thawing the rather frigid relations since the last Shinobi World War. It could even be considered the principle factor allowing the Kage to sit down at the table."

Turning just enough to regard him out of the corner of her eye, he realized that she held the same sort of admiration he was just starting to recognize in the faces of the population, carefully guarded though behind that frosted sheen.

"A single act of selflessness might not erase the decades of suspicion. But it's a start."

"-But it's a lie." Naruto hissed out from the corner of his mouth, trying still not to upset the mood that was being cultivated.

"Is it?"

"Yugito-san is- she was a fellow Jinchῡriki, I couldn't let the Akatsuki get a hold of the Nibi." Shame was impossible to keep from spreading like a pox to his face. "-And I couldn't even do that."

"As I said: it doesn't matter." Admiration lost as she rolled her eyes. "All the public sees is a foreign shinobi sticking their neck out for one of our own. Being such a 'strategic asset' to our village makes it even more a boon in the eyes of our council."

"Don't you understand?" Growling with frustration as he realized she couldn't, he turned to B but realized the man was pointedly ignoring the two of them. "It was all **because** she was a Jinchῡriki, because we-"

"The public doesn't know that." Samui informed him as emotionlessly as if she were telling him he had cancer. "Nor do they know about the details around her capture, and for many reasons we'd like to keep it that way, at least as long as we can."

"But that's-"

"A lie?" Both heads whipped to the profound voice and inflected question. "Riddle me this little man: if you'd never heard of Bijῡ or Jinchῡriki, would you have done the same thing?"

Even more than the non-verbal hum, this serious B was disconcerting, throwing him totally off kilter from the conversation he was precariously balancing.

Or maybe it was the question. No Bijῡ, No Kurama, No _**Ruby**_ , they were all a part of who he was. Would he have developed the same alone? It was impossible to imagine himself without them. Possibly that was the secret: he couldn't imagine himself any other way.

"Yeah." If there was someone in need, there would be no second guessing for him. "I would."

"There you go." B turned back to challenge him to a shit-eating grin contest to which Naruto happily met. "Now you know. Although, don't want to give you a scare, but you best be prepared."

"You're going to meet A." Clarifying for the unspoken question, Naruto wasn't comforted by the slight smirk on the cool blonde's lips. "B's brother, the Raikage."

"Never fret, you haven't met him yet. I was talking more on our trip, compared to that, this is just a blip."

"-Pending on the Raikage's approval."

"Don't be like that, dealing with Bro's old hat!"

"Oh? Like the last time you tried to sneak out and he sentenced you to D-Rank missions for a month?"

"Hey! Talking 'bout that ain't chill! All I wanted was a little thrill."

"It seems like you and Uzumaki are two of a kind. I wonder how good an idea this was in the first place."

"Bah, no need to fear, why, I bet your pretty little rear- Ow, ow, ow, my ear!"

Like oil on water, a light atmosphere was keeping them afloat. Even if it were just a veneer, did that mean it wasn't real? That mixture was life, after all. It didn't need to yield a solution, just keep their heads up until they could fix the underlying problem.

Life though, is a deep and perilous river.

* * *

Standing in front of the headmaster's desk with no idea how she got there. No recollection of falling asleep after the talk with the Raikage and no idea when or how she'd made it up the skyscraper tower. Operating as if sleep walking- as if that wasn't what they did every day.

She was still groggy, a crick in her neck that she couldn't message out and her clothes still smelled like grease and charcoal. If she were to look in the mirror there would likely be more smudges on her face than pale skin, and she would be willing to bet her silver eyes were bloodshot. It was a safe assumption that she'd spent the night at the school's workshop fiddling around with designs.

Glancing to her left, her uncle didn't look to be in much better shape, probably getting less sleep than her and showing it in the way he twitched and shifted from leg to leg listlessly. Caffeine no doubt added to this, the coffee in his hand the second cup since he'd entered the room (that she'd _notice_ , that is), trading one addiction for another it seemed. It made her wonder even more how she'd ended up here, as he hardly appeared capable of dragging his own two feet let alone her meager burden.

"The intel you gathered stated increased activity around the Mountain Glenn area, correct?"

"I dunno Oz, it was on the report, did you read it or didn't you?" Qrow asked flippantly while taking a sip. Wrinkling his nose at the sourness of the brew, nonetheless continuing to drink it as it succeeded in keeping him awake.

On the surface, the headmaster appeared far more collected than either of his subordinates, but if one were to look closely they would see the thin but deep gouges incising themselves under his eyes, carefully hidden by the rims of his glasses. But it was much harder for him to hide his own impatience, which was probably why he was sitting down lest he pace a new hole in the floor.

It was impossible to disguise the glare he shot the dusty old huntsman, however.

"Look, everything I found pointed to it being a major base of operations." The man defended with wide gestures, forcing Ruby to dodge as he spilled some of his coffee in the process. "The supply routes the White Fang were using lead that direction. They were moving tons of cargo- big shit too, serious military hardware. There'd be no other place to hide that kind of thing except for the abandoned buildings or the underground railyard."

"-And we had James follow up on that as per your suggestion." Ozpin nodded his acceptance to Ruby who was feeling more ornamental and less patient as the conversation went on around her. "The Atlassian Jagdkommando team turned up next to nothing. A few traces of camp here and there, but nothing to indicate size of operation or what they stored."

"And if I were to guess: no way to tell when they packed up shop or where they went?"

"You would be correct." Ozpin admitted with tangible frustration. "It's almost like they vanished into thin air, leaving us with no leads. The White Fang are operating much more militaristically, and I doubt it's solely due to the recent change in leadership. Adam Taurus may have radical ideas, but he lacks the military background for proper execution. His successes are based on trial and error- until now. Someone is clearly teaching his forces how to move and operate with efficiency."

"I hate to ask this so late in the game, but are we sure it's Her?" Unsure of the words coming out of his own mouth, Qrow appeared dazed, disoriented, like someone had hit him with a two by four and left him to pick himself up out of the gutter. "Who do we know that has the kinds of skills and resources to pull off an operation like that- never mind a reason?"

All things being equal, the simplest answer is not always the one we want to hear.

"I will not entertain this kind of talk." Ozpin declared coldly, resolute in the face of uncertainty crawling up the walls. "Not against a sovereign Kingdom, and certainly not against an ally."

"And why not?" Coffee mug set down before it was entertained as a weapon. "Your ol' buddy 'Jimmy' seems more than happy to march his windup army down our streets in broad daylight like he owns the place, what makes you so sure he's not doing the same thing under our noses?"

"And what? Work with the White Fang?" Sarcasm was unbecoming of Ozpin, and a sure a sign as any that the rational of the conversation was degenerating rapidly.

"We already know that when the chips are down they're willing to work with humans so that we slaughter each other." Thoughts of Roman and Neo languishing behind bars drew her mind away from the unpleasantness of this pointless argument. "And do you really believe that crock about stealing the prototype from Atlas? With their security? How do we know they didn't just hand it over as part of an agreement to carve Vale up amongst themselves?"

Thoughts about the relatively honest criminals were easily dismissed as she latched on to this rhetorical question. A previous her might have believed that it wasn't possible, that humans could never be so self-centered as to contemplate such a foolish idea. The knowledge of mutually assured destruction a deterrent from any kind of revival of inter-Kingdom warfare.

But a more mature- let's say experienced Ruby knew that this was not the case. In the end, people would go through whatever means to realize their agendas, no matter whom they hurt. The two of them were no different in that regard. The lie that they weren't hurting anyone kept them pushing forward blindly for so long, unappreciative of the hearts they trampled over in the process.

Would she not see the world burn, just so that they could be together? To her greatest shame and remorse, this question still needed to be asked.

The truth was always the same. People were always the same.

The man sitting behind the desk was a person just like anyone else. And in that moment, she realized she was staring back at a familiar face, the one of doubt.

"And what would you have me do?" Swallowing, trying to drown that doubt. Rubbing unaccustomed stubble on his chin. "Throw away everything that I've worked for? Declare war on the rest of the world? Mistrust my closest allies- people who I've known for longer than you've been alive?"

Too weak to offer any more resistance, Qrow shrugged bonelessly.

Doesn't feel good, does it? To be forced to question everything you thought you knew.

"No, it certainly doesn't."

Where once she was an ornament, now she was the chef d'oeuvre with the eyes of everyone on the room on her.

"Umm… I said that aloud, didn't I?" Next to her, her uncle ran a hand over his weary face and Ozpin allowed the barest of smiles to penetrate that overbearing gloom.

"Something to add, Ms. Rose?"

"No." She replied out of habit and embarrassment, "Maybe." She amended out of hope and faith. "It depends… are you going to listen to what I have to say?" Would her voice be heard above that overlying din of preconceived notions and traitorous rational?

When all plausible options have been exhausted, the only remaining options are the implausible.

Ozpin's smile gained a somber note as these same questions flitted past eyes shaded by rose-colored glasses. "At this point, I don't think there's any other's word that would mean as much." He leaned back and spread his arms wide in surrender, acceptance. "I'm all ears."

So she told him. And he listened.

Later, with a smile, Ruby would ride the conveniently slow elevator down from cloud nine, her uncle unaccustomedly stoic and sober next to her.

"You still think I'm crazy, don't you?" Eyes never leaving the illuminated numbers creeping downwards, smile never leaving her face. "It's okay, I think Ozpin does too, now."

"Not that a bottle of booze wouldn't make the transition easier…" Restraining himself from reaching for said bottle which wasn't there and avoiding looking at his niece. "I've seen and heard some pretty strange things working for Oz. I think the most bizarre part was seeing the old man confused."

Ruby giggled and with only mild resistance, Qrow joined her with a throaty chuckle.

"It was also a little worrying." Returning to the seriousness his white blood cells had yet to cure. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think he's desperate, grasping at straws." A slight narrowing of her eyes at this insinuation. "I told you I am on your side, Ruby, but you have to admit this is a lot to take in. How can we be sure Oz believes you? I know he made promises, but I have no idea if he intends to keep them or will even be able to. Furthermore, how are **you** sure this 'Naruto' will be able to help us?"

"I don't." She answered with the same levity, making it seem upon first glance like she wasn't taking this seriously. "-But I have faith. Everything will work out."

Before he could admonish his niece for her naivety, she turned to him with a face that might have been painted centuries ago.

"Ozpin probably knows that I'm using him, just like he's been using me." Silver eyes sparkled, radiating voices from far away stars. "But that's the beauty of it. The truth still might be that we don't understand one another, but we don't have to. We're both meeting in the middle with something real: trust." Cocking her head, she regarded the continued puzzled look on her uncle's face. "…And in the end, isn't that what friendship is?"

Amidst the gentle hum of the electromagnets the elder huntsman regarded his niece, trying to decide if she was insane or a genius. Wondering what the difference was, anyways.

"In my experience, giving trust only leads to people breaking it."

"We're not dealing with your experience. We're dealing with mine."

He had nothing to say to this.

Coming to such a gentle stop that they didn't notice their journey was over until the doors opened with a low hiss and Ruby practically skipped outside into the hall. Stopping though, turning around to her uncle who was still frozen in a combination of contemplation and bewilderment.

"I'd give you my word, if it meant anything. I could promise that it would be alright, and that I'd do everything I could to ensure that it is. But that wouldn't mean much, would it?" Not so long as he harbored his own doubts which he toted with him wherever he went.

"No." He admitted. "S'pose not."

Stepping out of the car himself before the automatic doors closed shut on him, he noticed his niece being tugged in another direction than the dorms, back to the origin of all that grime coating her.

"You're not going back to your team?"

She shook her head. "No, they know what I've been up to and that it might take me a while. But," The smile which hadn't waned only got stronger. "It won't be long, I know what I'm doing now."

Behind her she could feel his crimson gaze, the thoughts she left him with slowly smoldering in that mind which had been drowned in alcohol for so long. Maybe he would get it soon enough, and if he never did that was okay too. She wasn't entirely sure that what she was doing was right or true.

Between thought and action, lays the shadow. She was tied to action, to a path that wouldn't allow that shadow to survive.

* * *

He sat between excitement and terror. The prospect of facing 'the Falls of Truth' looming high in his mind like a full moon, beautiful and terrible all at the same time.

Given several days advanced notice, he tried to ready himself for whatever might lay in wait for him there. Although, even if he had been told at the start of their journey to Turtle Island, he doubted he would be any more prepared.

As it was, the shinobi of Kumogakure were very tightlipped about the entire ordeal, not daring to hardly mention it until the mobile training ground could be spotted on the horizon. Out of their entourage, the only one who had ever set foot on the vegetated shell was B, and he was his usual enigmatic self.

Which didn't make this part any easier. Before the truth was forcibly ripped out of him he needed to set it straight in his own mind, and lay it bare to one of the few people to whom it truly mattered, one of the few people who would get it.

That was the hope, anyway.

Sitting across from him, legs crossed and an unreadable look on his rugged face, B remained silent after the tail had come to its inconclusive end. Not all that much from different from Glynda, he mused, just separated by little things like looks, gender, occupation, and a cosmos.

"Hmm, that's an interesting little stor-y, but what's it got to do with Killer B?"

Dismay, confusion, but not quite resignation. Why did he think B would understand? Wetting his lips, he tried to form words that would be understood by humanity. Trying to rationalize his own thoughts into language.

"I-I want to know what I am going to face in there, considering…" A dark face stared blankly back at him "…You don't believe me, do you?"

"I dunno, you tell me. You be speaking the truth from what I can see." A burly hand moved from his rubbing his white beard to gesture broadly at the waterfall adjacent. "For the other side, your guess is as good as mine. But you're a tough little guy, you'll be fine."

Unlike with Glynda, to be so offhanded with his confession wounded him, despite the vote of confidence. It made him frustrated, though at what he didn't know. The glibness of B's rapping? Or was that simply where he was placing the blame, fear and anxiousness manifesting themselves?

Make themselves known they did, against his pitiful attempts to hide them. B was not fooled- was no fool, and the carefree visage he portrayed relaxed to highlight the lines of worry underneath, revealing a man who had gone through his own share of struggles.

"Look, I be empathizing with your plight, but you know It's not my fight, right?"

Fist clenched, teeth ground, anger at himself for being such a fool. This man might have been a fellow jailer, but not a brother. The bond he hoped to find was but a reflection on a puddle without any depth.

"You're right. I don't know why I'm bringing this to you. I guess I thought…"

B sighed, those lines deepening to form wrinkles which marked themselves through many an unenviable situation.

"Kid, I'm not trying to brush you off or dismiss this thing you think is important, alright? I just can't help you. I'm here to train another village's Jinchῡriki because some really nasty guys are out for people like us. That's what's important **to me,** my duty to my brother and my home. I don't doubt that you feel a kindred bond to Mr. Eight, and I guess me by extension, but I can't return that. You're a comrade, yeah, but I hardly know you.

"Don't get me wrong. I'm immensely grateful for what you did for Yugito-chan, despite whatever stupid guilt you may have over that. It speaks to me, tells me you got a good head on your shoulders, not to mention a good heart. That said, I don't know what you expect me to do for you, but I can't. My loyalty is to my village, as yours should be.

"Knowin that, you gotta decide: Konoha, or your would-be bride?"

"She's not- it isn't like that!" Caught off-guard by the sudden return to levity, sputtering in the transition from brackishness to fresh air and flailing in the smiling face of his fellow Jinchῡriki.

After the outburst he grew quiet.

What exactly was their relationship? It was a question both had agreed was irrelevant, harmful possibly. Obsessing over it would drive the both mad, as in this case it seemed to be. To quantify it would be to diminish it, but how could he convey the idea without a word?

"She's important to me." Voice hardly above a whisper, hardly above that roaring water in the background. "I… I can't claim anymore that she's all I have, but in many ways she's all I care about. Even as we become different people I still feel like she's a part of me, something I can't ignore. I know, _I know_ I have a duty to my village- to my friends, one that I would never go back on. At the same time, I have to see her. I **have to** go there. The same type of bad people as here are causing trouble in her world and I'm worried. Maybe I shouldn't be but I am.

"It's selfish. I understand that. But can't I be selfish just for once? I've endured so much, and I'd give up my life a thousand times over- but never hers."

There was a heavy breath which signaled the slumping of shoulders, lowering of expectations.

"Again, I don't know what you expect from me. I'm a fighter, I don't know hardly anything about seals and nothing about this whole parallel-universe crap. Maybe Hachibi knows something, but then what? Do you think I can just let you leave while you're supposed to be under my care? Bro would have my ass in a heartbeat. It would make last time look like a pillow-fight!" B shuddered at the thought.

For Naruto though, it gave him an idea.

"But if I weren't here, Madara would never be able to find me. I don't like hiding, but I would come back, and have plenty of time away to train to kick his ass!"

"Hmm…" The deep hum from the other man excited hope in the young shinobi. "I'm beginning to think it's a possibility, but what's in it for Killer B?"

"You could come with!" Mildly surprised by the energetic declaration, behind his sunglasses B blinked before settling down and seemed to ponder this. "Um," Seeing his chance, Naruto struggled for what he knew about the man that could possibly cement the deal. "I'm sure you want to get out, see the sights. Maybe, um… find a nice fight?" He winced at the way it sounded coming out of his mouth, and he would be willing to bet Ruby would be gagging if she could. He hoped neither remembered after this.

"A'ight!" The loud slapping as fist met palm spooked Naruto from his contingency planning, making sure that B and Yang never met. "This sounds tight! You got us a deal Mr. Mighty-Might!" He gave the boy a thumbs-up which reminded him of Might-Guy.

With the amount of elation flowing forth, it drowned out whatever awkwardness and revulsion he might have felt. He couldn't be happier, things were finally happening.

It still felt like it was only bright on the surface, that dangers and darkness were still looming underneath. At least now it actually felt like they were actively getting somewhere, working their way down slowly but surely so that one day the river could run free and clear.

The river of time was always flowing.

* * *

"Excited?"

Was she? Maybe.

Elated, yes, at finally having her voice heard by someone who could do something.

Impatient, to have this current task over and done with so that the important something could happen.

Anxious, because the outcome was still in contest, because she didn't know what the result of that something would be.

Nervous, discerning that there **was** doubt containing things that she couldn't control. Even in this current obstacle facing her, fearing she hadn't done enough to prepare herself, prepare her team.

Guilt, **knowing** that she should have spent more time with the people around her, people who were supposed to be devoted to one another and help each other through thick and thin. Looking back, they had more than fulfilled their side of the bargain. But had she given her team even half the attention they deserved?

"Hey," That same voice, calming, reassuring. "It's gonna be just fine." Under the firm check on the shoulder she stood her ground.

"Yeah." She smiled back up at her sister whose heart-shaped face was softened by the dim lighting. "You're right." Turning back to the pinprick of light at the end, smirking at the sounds of jeering crowds echoing down the hallway. "We're going to kick their butts!"

There was a halfhearted grunt of acknowledgment to her far-right, which was more than she was expecting from Blake. The addition of her sister loudly cracking her knuckles only served to highlight a noticeable absence from this assent.

"Weiss?"

The pale girl bit her lip, nervously glancing down to her partner. More specifically, the object cradled in her left hand.

"I don't mean to be such a pessimist-" "- _Sure_ you don't." "- **But** , I've just never seen you use anything other than your scythe. Far be it from me to doubt your ability, but are you sure that it's the most appropriate…" She hesitated, looking for the most suitable euphemism for the thing she regarded with obvious disdain. "… _weapon_ , you could come up with?"

A borderline manic grin was her answer, forcing Weiss to take a step back, breathe and remind herself just how little she truly knew her leader.

"It's a Kabutowari." Leaning over in a surprising show of vocalism, Blake scrunched her nose as she appraised the weapon with a second glance. "…I think. Or maybe a Tekken. I forget the difference." And no doubt wondered if the monstrosity could even be considered either.

"Yes." Lessening her grin with a nod, Ruby affirmed the educated guess.

"So?" Blake cocked an eyebrow, shifting between the weapon and the wielder. "Which is it?"

"Yes."

There were three collective sighs and one disturbing giggle.

"-But you're right." Taking pity, Ruby turned to her partner who blinked in surprise. "It's not my first choice. I'm just holding on to it for a friend."

Strangeness was accustomed by now and was what Ruby expected to see as her partner's answer to this declaration. Instead, she found only a crestfallen pity which was quickly eschewed as the woman turned to stare straight ahead. A reaction which annoyed and incensed her.

Whatever. A deep breath steeled her resolve, made it as hard as the curved bludgeon by her side. She would be able to show all of them soon enough.

* * *

"Let's do this."

"Alright, let's have a good match."

The hand extended out to her and she took a step back in surprise, the sight of Samui shocking her.

-No, wait, this wasn't the Kumo kunoichi, this was team ABRN's leader, Arslan Altan. The golden-haired and dark-skinned woman's frown at this admittedly rude reaction was eerily similar though, and Ruby had to force herself through the compunction to correct this faux pas.

"Y-yeah, let's."

Leaning in for the handshake, the woman shot an aside to Ruby's partner, silent question asked with her eyebrow. Ruby was a little put-out when the white-haired girl shrugged in response and shook her head. Weiss then proceeded to ignore the pout of betrayal her young leader besieged her with when they backed into their starting positions.

The countdown projected on nearly every vertical surface and the loud beeping which accompanied it quickly overshadowed her grumbling, allowing the Schnee heiress a moment of reprieve from her leader's antics which (not that she would ever admit it) were growing to be mildly endearing.

One wonders if she ever regretted not admitting it. Pride was a cheap substitute for the gratitude it would no doubt have bought.

No time for second thought, no shadow of a doubt as the stage exploded into action.

Punt Van Die Dolk- The tip of the dagger which forced itself into the Mistral team's stomach, Ruby slammed into Arslan, banishing the familiar image in place of a heady instinct which throbbed through her veins.

She needn't have had any misgivings about her team's capabilities. They followed her lead without hesitation, interpreting the silent commands formed by her subtle hand-gestures she didn't even recall forming.

A while back, an offhand comment by Blake prompted an investigation for Naruto into his village's library. Where, through much grumbling and examination, they emerged with a rudimentary version of ANBU code. Painstakingly, and with no small number of headaches on both ends, they translated that code across the divide, teaching themselves and Ruby's team at least the bare-bone basics.

Finally, it seemed to be paying off.

JNPR were too familiar with their stratagems for them to decide whether the non-verbal commands had any use. Like with her and Naruto, the two first-year teams practiced side by side so much that it was near impossible to differentiate improvement. This was the litmus test that would prove the theory.

Admittedly, the nameless weapon in her hands felt a tad unwieldy. Regardless, it was better than simply using her bare fists as she combatted the dexterous and determined huntress who had just recovered from the killer opener.

With hardly any effort, almost delicately she was able to deflect the rope-dart hurled at her. Flowing with the move, a flick of her wrist snapped the hammer back discharging the weapon. The reamed .458" bore unleashed a scattershot of dust like firecrackers which blinded her opponent, allowing her to move unhindered.

Deliberately timed, at that same moment Blake disappeared behind one of the many icy stalactites scattered around half the arena. Skirting this obstacle, Reese Chloris expected to come up on the back of her adversary only to find an unexpectedly heavy boot planted in her face.

Likewise, Arslan would flail about in her blind state, lassoing her opponent only to find that it had been a clone of the cat-like woman who then brought to bear the blunt edge of _Gambol Shroud_ on the back of her head.

Not stopping to see if she was down for the count- don't stop, couldn't stop that eternal flow coursing through the arena.

Reese would pick herself off the ground with a few extra black lines bleeding onto her face to accompany what was already there, her adversary standing there and looking content as a cat with a bird in its mouth. She would reach down for her armament and mode of transport only to discover it had gone AWOL.

"Woohoo!"

You get three guesses to where it went, the first two don't count.

Coming in for a whirlwind pass over their heads, Ruby used the hoverboard to transcend the figurative, a tropical typhoon coming to life in the wake of her contrails courtesy of a fire-Dust crystal her sister had passed to her.

Having not yet picked herself up from the sneak-attack previous, the green-haired skateboarder found herself forcibly lifted off her rear by the surprisingly strong gale. Unfortunately realizing she was in too deep when her feet could no longer touch the ground. Hanging like a fly in a web, she was the perfect target for the bite of the black-clad huntress who planted another devastating kick, knocking the poor woman two for two.

Abruptly stopping in her one-sided assault of the Bo staff-wielding Bolin Hori, Yang smirked playfully as she gave the man a chance to back up and catch his breath.

"*Phew* you're pretty good." Adopting the same relaxed composure as the blonde who had her hand on her hip, he leaned heavily on his staff. "Say- you wanna grab a bite to eat after this?"

Chuckling at the presumptuousness of the man, Yang bestowed upon him a flirtatious wink.

"Sorry, you're going to have to do better than that if you want to pick up a girl like me. Something like… this."

 _Ember Celica_ raised delicately in the air, cradling a flickering light in her palm like a torch which nearly blinded the saffron-robed man and forced him to look away just as a blur came and snatched the woman from the ground.

"Huh?"

This dumbfound phrase would have also sufficed for what happened in the coming seconds, if only the young man could articulate anything past a muted groan from having his teammate launched bodily into him from left field.

"Nice ride, you're already picking up babes with it. Do I have to worry about you becoming a player?" Tongue in cheek (though not literally because it would be very unwise while on a moving vehicle) Yang asked, one arm around her sister's waist, the other feeding the dust crystal into the deck of the hoverboard as the two flew the stolen ride around in a tight loop.

"Nope. You're the only girl for me, Yang!" Missing the discomfited blush on her sister's face, Ruby disengaged herself and leapt down towards the final ABRN member she'd yet to get her claws into. "Besides, it's not really my style. Have fun!"

"Sweet!" Taking hold of the reigns shakily, the blonde quickly learned that it wasn't the same as her motorcycle, _Bubmlebee._ "Better be ready to _Yang_ ten!"

Again, paying little attention to her comparably outrageous sibling, Ruby flew straight at the pink-haired man whom Weiss was engaging with a lackadaisical effort.

Spotting, and already prepared for the airborne team captain, the composed huntress straightened herself as if under the scrutiny of some passing noble and whipped a pair of glyphs at her opponent. The first one growing icy spikes which the man handily dodged, retreating backwards in a tight roll and coming out of it with his entire firepower devoted to destroying this obstacle.

What he missed was the second glyph, off to the side, which accelerated the crimson missile at him with unparalleled speed. There might have been a moment where his hindbrain registered the danger and tried to get him to dodge, but it was far too late as the transformed assault rifle vanished out of his hands.

Unsure of what had transpired, Nadir Shiko looked down to where his weapon had been only to see a small, red-cloaked girl standing in front of him.

"Night-night."

Hardly a tap- at least that's how it appeared from the outside as she reached up and bonked the mutated Kabutowari on that bubblegum pink head. Yet this tap clearly drained the rest of the man's meager Aura, sending him to the floor in an undignified heap.

"Aren't you having a little too much fun?" Coming up to her leader with an eye to inspecting the anticlimactic assault, Weiss was doubting whether it was the weapon or her partner that was the chief cause of the damage.

"Meh, spoilsport." Ruby waggled the blunt stick like a teacher would a ruler at a disrespectful student. "Here, you can have the next one." Turning to level her armament at Bolin who was just now staggering to his feet after determining that his ally which collided with him was out cold.

"Hmph!"

Enthusiasm hidden behind her practiced snobbishness, Weiss lunged at the black-haired teen, quickly engaging him in a fairly even duel between rapier and staff. Showing good spaceal awareness, he even managed to realize that they were dueling on her home turf and withdrew to the half of the arena covered in magmatic frontier. Here, he wasted no time in acquiring more burn-Dust which he imbued into his staff, keeping the snow-themed young woman at bay with volleys of basketball-sized flames.

Meeting each of these projectiles with her own hastily formed snowballs, she succeeded in distracting him long enough for her to leap over the exchange on one of her glyphs which served as a platform. By the time he saw her shadow coloring the runic lines under his feet, his lower half was already encased in ice.

Before Weiss could strike the finishing blow however, her target was stolen by a white-tethered dagger wrapping around his waist and a perfectly targeted blast which broke his entrapment and yanked him free.

"Oh no you don't!"

Equal and opposite in strength and color, from the other side a black ribbon ensnared the young man and jerked him back to team RWBY as Blake alighted next to her teammate.

"I had him!" Weiss protested, stamping her foot childishly.

"Sorry, I didn't think you wanted him to run away." Most of her attention on bickering, Blake casually yanked on the student huntsman caught in their impromptu tug-of-war.

"Heads up!"

Between a rock and a hard place. No doubt Bolin felt this was his fate as he was liberated from the latter by the former- more specifically Yang on the hoverboard crashing straight into him and causing the two women on either side to be jolted forward.

"Okay, maybe we need to work on that a little bit." RWBY's captain admitted with a twisted smile towards her groaning teammates, helping them back to their feet.

Nevertheless, one could not argue with results as even slow to recover, the Beacon team stood strong with all four members against the one remaining from ABRN.

"Don't suppose you'd like to surrender." Yang offered the olive branch with all sincerity to the remaining huntress, knowing the words would be less demeaning from her rather than their resident sourpuss.

"It's clear I don't stand much of a chance on my own." Arslan admitted bitterly. "But you understand if I can't just go belly up in front of so many watching."

"Yeah, and I can respect that." Nonchalantly the blonde checked her gauntlets to see that she hadn't even used up a single clip during the exchange. "What about a one-on-one? Give the crowd a show. Your pick."

The remaining three conferred silently amongst themselves, seeing nothing wrong with the offer considering they would still be three to one odds if one should lose.

"Alright." The gilded blonde accepted with gallows humor. "How 'bout the short one?"

"Ooh! That's me!"

Trying to rile Ruby up and throw her off-balance was a harder task than she could have ever anticipated. Coming to realize this as the girl practically bounced forward with a depraved grin on her face and wielding that hooked steel bludgeon.

"Sorry about before." Giving a small hand-gesture that Arslan recognized as one of respect, Ruby set about apologizing. "You just reminded me of someone I know, and I didn't expect to see them here." _Yet_ , at least.

"Fair enough. Now, let's see if we can't live up to your promise."

With that, the two readied themselves. Tuning out the roars of the crowd which were like the ocean, the collision between a tidal wave and the shoreline was imminent.

They came together in a crash.

* * *

"That was quite the performance earlier."

Feckless and pandering, such a platitude didn't deserve a response.

That wasn't the reason she ignored him, though.

"Yeah…"

Perhaps condemning the headmaster like this is too harsh. It was simply hard to accept him being anything but insincere when staring at his handiwork in the face.

A pretty face, cold, lifeless, likely to remain so if she were being realistic. If she were to speak out loud about it, she would have to admit her doubt about being able to save this woman, despite their promise.

Which one of them was supposed to be disingenuous again?

"Come, Ms. Rose. I was under the impression that you didn't want to waste time."

Neither of them did, as Ozpin ushered her away from the container housing the Fall Maiden, which she could hardly bear to look at anymore yet could not turn away from. Frozen like a bug behind glass, she just hoped that wasn't to be her fate as well. An experiment, a curiosity. She'd been that enough already.

Luck wouldn't have it, however, leading her to an identical chamber set up in an adjacent corner. Machines of similar make and equally unknown purpose were plugged in next to it, rat's nest of wires blooming out of the top.

That previous resolve shying away at this sight, she hesitated upon the threshold, looking at the glass coffin with suspicion.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Looking back at her halting with an eyebrow quirked in impatience.

"No. But this is the only way I know how to find out. The sooner we can get you hooked up, the sooner we can try to locate this separate entity in your psyche. Even if it is not a soul on our physical plain, per say, it might still register on the extractor."

"Right."

They had tried to explain the concepts to her, but most of it was far too abstract for her mechanical mind and she was only left with the impression that they were using a metal-detector to find unicorns.

"Let's do this."

At least it shouldn't hurt.

Reigning in his own apprehension for her benefit, Ozpin nodded softly and gently helped her into the pod.

"Do you have to lower the door?"

"I'm afraid so." Taking a break from rechecking his adjustments to look at his student with sympathy. "There's a built-in failsafe that prevents it from working without it closed. Normally when we're trying to transfer an Aura from person to person, the danger of having it disperse to the outside environment is too great a risk." He walked back over to the little girl trussed up in the velvet padded interior, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You'll be fine. Everything is going to be fine, I promise." Backing up, he manually shut the lid where it locked with a snap-hiss.

"Okay Ruby, stay calm, just breathe…"

The oxygen was flowing freely. Closing her eyes, she could even feel the slow movement of air through the molecular sieves and smell the chalkiness of diatomite. And as she focused on that and nothing else, she didn't notice the machine fire up outside with a resistant hum. She was unaware as the theoretical energies dove into her mind, probing delicately around quantum synapsis which even then were mutating as they encountered this ethereal visitor.

"Okay."

There was a sharp intake of air when she realized it was no longer being regulated, and she drank greedily. "Huh? What's going on."

"We're done." Ozpin said simply, helping her out of the machine she never remembered opening.

"Done? Did I fall asleep?"

"Quite possibly. That was essentially what we wanted to happen, no?"

A quick look around the catacombs showed that nothing had changed, it could have been decades in the future and she bet it would still look the same.

No Naruto.

"It didn't work?" Dismay rife and a sinking feeling in her stomach that she knew preluded anger.

"I'm not exactly sure." Ozpin admitted, hiding either pity or contempt behind his reserved expression. "We could be trying to drive a screw with a hammer- Or perhaps, using a hammer to find a screw in a haystack is more appropriate, because we don't know precisely what we are looking for and don't know if this is even the right tool to go about it."

A small frown, a tiny variation from his placid expression was the only thing to show how he felt about it.

"I'm sorry Ruby. I told you from the beginning that even if this bond is real, the chances of doing anything about it would be a longshot. But I _did_ still think there was hope." Looking back towards the other side of the room where Amber lay in her chrysalis, one could see that he meant it.

He had spent far too long down here doing the very same thing day after day though, and stopped himself before he became mired in the ennui of regret.

"Let's go. You should get back to your team."

Footsteps abruptly stopped as he turned to find her paused once again, silver eyes staring and reflecting that negative space. The luminous glow from the fluorescent bulbs twinkling like faraway stars.

"Ruby?"

She blinked away the nothingness, looked back at Ozpin, and smiled.

"It worked."

* * *

Nothing had changed when he opened his eyes, only the volume of water which continued to cascade endlessly down that weather-worn face.

But still, everything had changed.

Slowly he stood up, careful to stretch out muscles which had been idle in the same position for hours. He imagined Ruby would be much the same after subjecting herself to that machine for another half-day continuously, regretfully missing her own team in the doubles-round of the tournament.

It was worth it. It would all be worth it.

For he now had a direction. A trail of breadcrumbs to lead him through the woods.

Ozpin's machine had reached out, touched him. In the hammer analogy, he had banged on the wall. Now it was time to answer back.

His inner compass reset, course charted, the only thing left was wind in his sails to carry him in this odyssey. Nearly nine whole tails-worth of chakra had been necessary the first time, and so it should be expected that a repeat of the experiment should be no different. He had been warned though, that even with his partner's full support he would need to be the tillerman to that energy. Manipulating it with absolute precision to guide him on that infinitely infinitesimal expanse.

As it was, his subconscious still manipulated the Yokai in unpredictable ways. And until he could claim absolute control over his evil, the true darkness which lay inside, they could not risk it.

Which was why he was still here, about to step across the precipice into something he was entirely sure he was unprepared for.

' _ **Do you trust me, Naruto?'**_ Footsteps on the surface of the pond, ripples crushed by unrepentant whitewash. _**'If there was another way… I would let you know.'**_ Raging, a storm, thunderous noise as the liquid crashed on his shoulders. There was no doubt he could still hear. _**'About the Rinnegan… you accepted it from Konan without any question, never once asking why it was necessary.'**_ A thousand million sledgehammers trying to crush every molecule in his body with the same force which destroyed the moon. _ **'There's something else you should know about it... I-I feel as though if I had told you, you would have never laid a finger on them. You would have destroyed them right away. I didn't tell you because I wanted you to have the chance-**_ _ **I**_ _ **wanted the chance to see her. But now- now- I should have told you, I NEED to tell you-'**_

"Kurama."

A deafening roar, water so cold it became numb, he closed his eyes and banished all sight.

"Thanks. I'll see you when I get back."

When he reopened his eyes, it was all the same.

A different kind of nothingness, though, an endless field of white occupied his eyes. A different sort of quiet, no echoes as his feet trod silently on the empty space. Anaesthetized, there was not even air to prickle the raised hairs on his skin.

And yet there was something.

Standing in front of him, barefaced and prominent, unabashedly clad in a shade of orange that could have been seen for miles and yet he hadn't noticed until now. In this task he should have been on guard, yet couldn't bring himself to be as he stared into that familiar face which decried impish curiosity.

"Who are you?" He asked, before desire had even formed in his mind.

Startled, as if it couldn't understand the question. Did he not speak the language? Which one did he speak it in anyway?

"Seriously?" It was his turn to be shocked as it stared at him in obvious disbelief.

"Yes." He replied. Numbness receding, feeling a little now: a slight irritated twitch in his eye. "Why would I ask if I didn't know?"

"I don't know!" Throwing its arms up in the air, a clear expression of exasperation. "-Wait! If you really don't know, then just who the heck are **you**?"

"This is ridiculous!" Feeling his tone rise along with temper. The world was becoming clearer, identity of the person still just out of his grasp. "I asked first."

"Fine!"

Jabbing a tanned thumb towards a puffed-out chest, determination set into eyes which shone like sapphires. Mouth grit with words molded in resolve.

In the moment before those words came, he already knew. Fathomless blue pools opened wide to meet that other horizon.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, Future Hōkage! Dattebayo!"

He stood in disbelief.

"Now, who are you?!"

He tried, but he couldn't answer.

Blind, deaf, dumb.

Nothing every changed.

* * *

 **A/N: Don't normally do this, but just thought it might be good to clarify a few of things here. I know that I have been pretty brazen with my prose in the past, and if it seems especially thick at the end of the first section, it's because those lines are a quote from the Bhagavad Gita, famous Hindu text most of you probably know from Oppenheimer's quote: "Now I have become Death, destroyer of worlds". This is actually not the first quote I have used (I challenge people to find the other(s) ) and I find that the text really fits a lot of the questions I wish to convey here anyway.**

 **So if you thought my writing was obscure, try reading some ancient Hindu text and come back to me.**

 _ **Jagdkommando**_ **\- I figured that since Weiss Schnee is German, and the whole of Atlas seems vaguely Germanic, that the Atlas special forces team would have their basis in this. Literally this translates into 'Hunter-Commando', and this is the actual name of the Austrian SF (although, their duties are pretty different these days, counter-terrorism and such).**

 _ **Punt Van Die Dolk**_ **\- The literal translation follows: Point of the Dagger, but I just thought I'd clarify that here. Sure, it would probably have been easier to just actually, IDK, use ENGLISH instead of that language which sounds like most of it was made for a joke while eating pancakes (aka Dutch, or in this case Afrikaans). It's another obscure reference, sue me.**

 **And I'll explain the weapon better in coming chapters, but if you want a quick idea just search** _ **Kabutowari**_ **(helmet-splitter) and imagine it bigger. One pet peeve I have is how everyone just has people whipping out weapons like it's a Lego set. It's not. Trust me. There's a lot of struggling and swearing involved, both before and after the big hammer comes out.**


	34. Paragnosis

**Halloo! Ve gates es einen?** **Vas ist los? Me, been busy, so sorry if I missed anyone's Reviews (I read them all, but I really need to respond right away or else I get sidetracked and forget). So, anyone whom I missed, please slap me upside the head with a PM or just put in the review that I neglected you.**

 **BUT! I did not neglect you as a reader, even though I did not update last week. This was a calculated risk, knowing that this chapter ends with something of a cliffhanger and I didn't want to be lynched for doing that (yet again). So, this week you get double-chappies, yay! Meanwhile I'm pounding sugar and caffeine to get the chapter after that one done while I'm on this streak.**

 **And to the person who recommended the quote from Romeo & Juliet, I took your advice and integrated it into this chapter, not transplanting but expanding it more into a scene. **

**Auf Weidersehen!  
**

* * *

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, Future Hōkage! Dattebayo!"

The ground had been taken from beneath his feet, the air from his lungs, the thoughts from his head.

It had all been stolen from him by this imposter.

"No you're not." Swallowing nothing, throat coated in sand. He would not steal his voice too. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki."

"Oh, so you're like- what, an alternate me?" A stunning realization for both of them, Orange-Naruto pointed a finger at him which he wanted to cut off. "Wait! How come you got promoted while I'm stuck a Genin?!"

Everything else taken, he became anger.

"You… dolt!" Where had the rest of his words gone? Left with this childish vocabulary while grave actions crossed his mind. "That's seriously the first question you ask? Not: 'who are you?' or even 'why are you here?'"

"Well… no." Scrunching his face up in a way that was familiar and offensive to him at the same time. "I'm pretty sure we're in the Waterfalls of Truth still, so that would make you my darkness, right? You do kind of have that emo-warrior vibe going that Sasuke does."

Too real, much too real, words like a slap in the face. His fist clenched in restraint, not wanting to give this _thing_ anything else.

"You… how dare you. My sister picked these out for me."

First repost, touché, striking a grievous wound on the imposter.

"You… have a sister?" The other clutching a bleeding heart, he felt some liquid try and escape past his own skin. Mouth still bone dry.

"Yeah…"

* * *

" _Hey, there you are!" Peaking up through racks of clothes parted like branches, revealing a smiling face like the sun. "What're you doing in the boy's section?"_

 _Head cocked coquettishly to the side, only mildly aware of its devastating effect._

" _Eh? Why not?"_

 _Giggling, surprise and amusement._

" _No reason I guess. Want some help?"_

 _Moon reflecting sun, shining brightly at the offer._

" _Sure!"_

" _I like that design, but I think you'd look better in black than orange…"_

* * *

That had happened, didn't it? That was part of who he was.

"It's… kind of complicated." His hand clenched around the skirt of his midnight jacket, saturating sense of touch with that heavy denim, feeling of something real.

But the clothes weren't real, were they? This was all just an illusion. The frown on his face across from him, merely another test to pass.

"I… see." No he couldn't. How could this shade understand anything about him when he didn't understand himself? "I'm happy for you. I'm glad you have someone that precious to you."

Disarmed, he allowed himself to shed that anger, remembering that he was more than that.

"Precious people… just like Haku said, right?"

"Yeah." A smile, recognition. It shared at least part of his memories, a fragment of his reality.

"Therefore… you understand why I have to defeat you."

"Eh?"

It genuinely appeared confused, and for a moment he felt pity for the fragment of his soul.

"You said it yourself. That's why I'm here, to surmount the obstacle presented by the Falls of Truth. I need the ability to control Kurama's power so I can reach them, so I can finally see them in person, hold her with my own hands and repay all that she's done for me."

"Matte, matte- don't you have this backwards?!" Wide-eyed, waving his hands in front of him trying to erase this notion. "I'm the one who went into the Falls! How do you know you're not the evil one?"

A question which gave him pause, stopped him mid-step.

"No." He shook his head, confusing his ignorant doppelganger. "None of this. I'm running out of time."

There was no longer any time for questions, no room for second-guessing and no leniency for shadows of doubt.

"Oh crap!"

Fearfully exclaiming as he drew _Radiant Thorn_ out of the seal on his wrist, the orange-clad version of him obviously realized what he had moments earlier- that this confrontation would only be settled one way.

Considering the level of incompetence displayed by the brightly-hued shinobi, it was mildly surprising that he was able to dodge the initial assault, even though Naruto admitted he was still holding back.

That would have to change. Reluctance was not something he could afford in this fight.

"Holy shit! Where did that thing come from?!" 'He' griped, withdrawing a handful of shuriken to give himself some breathing room as he jumped back and formed a dozen clones, a cluster of orange fruit amongst all that whiteness.

All thirteen sets of eyes widened as the weapons phased right through the scythe-wielder, dispersing a small cluster of crimson leaves in their wake.

The clones were slow to react, three of them being culled in one swipe before the others even kenned to the reappearance of their adversary. One managed to deploy a kunai in a feeble defense which only lasted through one block before the sheer magnitude of force behind the swings dispelled it.

This minor distraction did allow more of its comrades to throw themselves at him, latching onto his legs first to make sure he couldn't suddenly blitz them again and another sneaking around to lock his arms in place. The remaining ones including the 'original' were congealing a mass of swirling blue Chakra in the background.

"Let's see how you like it! Rasenga- woah!"

Predictably, while boasting he wasn't prepared for the assistant clone to suddenly be replaced by Naruto who swung his scythe at the blue gem in the 'original's' palm. Already formed though, the original-imposter was able to withdraw his spiraling attack before he lost it as well as his hand, bracing himself on his back leg and meeting the return swing from the scythe with that gnashing sphere in his grip.

"Damnit!" His counterpart, more vocal with his frustrations in not being able to push back the grim reaper. "I thought you were supposed to be me! How are you so fast?!"

"Simple." Naruto replied while increasing the pressure on the heel of _Radiant Thorn_ , cognizant of the clones reforming behind him. "I'm not you. You're me- a small part which I don't need!"

Suddenly releasing the pressure on his lookalike, he jammed the head of his scythe into the non-existent ground and vaulted over him. Orange-Naruto stumbled forward with the Rasengan dissipating just as above him a rain of tri-pronged kunai spread across their infinite battlefield.

One clone was struck outright by one of the Hiraishin-tagged weapons, the others falling immediately after in a flash of lightning which was dark and menacing against the all-white background.

Momentarily stunned, the 'original' had enough ingrained instinct to throw himself to the ground before he was harvested by the streaming light bouncing around like a pinball.

"Bastard! You stole my father's Jutsu!"

"Stole?" Coming out of that hypersonic slipstream, Naruto propped himself up on his weapon and scoffed. "The Fourth was **my** father, and I earned every bit of this jutsu. Do you even understand why it's so important to me? No- of course you don't. You didn't know about Yang so you sure as hell don't know _Her_."

"Dude, you totally lost me." Confessed the other blond, hopping back up to his feet with a little effort. "Look, why can't we talk about this? I know each of us thinks we need to 'defeat' the other, but what if that's just a meta- um, meta-face? Meta-farce? Damnit, what's the word for it…?"

"I'm sorry." Realizing he was, and sequestering that remorse for after this trial. "I _don't_ want to do this. But even if you're honest- no, **especially** if you're telling the truth, I can't hear it, can't afford to entertain that kind of doubt. I need this- need to be 100% certain of my path."

If he wasn't a complete fool, by now the other Naruto should have realized the pattern and known another attack was imminent.

The ability to do something about it was something else, as he but stood and watched his black-clad brother flicker towards him in a staggered pattern like a zipper of death. Comprehending that he had no chance of hitting the reaper with a kunai or outrunning the shunshin, he played the gambit and waited until he could feel the tickle of the blade on the back of his neck like a razor blade. Forming a single clone, he substituted himself with it to get behind his opponent and reeled up for a punch to the back of the head.

With one swift move, Naruto negated the entire effort as he jerked back on the scythe, decapitating the clone and jabbing Other Naruto in the stomach with the butt of the scythe. Devoid of wind and momentum though he was, Orange Naruto latched on to the shaft in his gut and proceeded to punch anyway with all the force he could muster.

Ruby's Other took the first blow off his forehead, snarling as tried to backhand the brightly-colored copy only to have it bend back and cartwheel off to safety.

"There's no where to run, you know." Shaking his head both in disappointment and to replace the manicured bedhead which had been mussed.

"I don't want to fight you." Reasserting his position, still Orange Naruto settled into a low stance with his fingers crossed in a symbol they both knew too well.

"Nor I you." Despite words and deep frown to the contrary, he met the gesture with his own confrontational stance. _Radiant Thorn_ cocked high above his head. "I just want to get this over with."

"I see I'm going to have to beat the message into you, right?" Looking to enjoy this idea, a bright grin grew to match his trappings, and Naruto realized that a similar one must have spread contagiously to his face.

"Right. But if you intend to win, you better come at me with the intention to kill."

"Taking a page from Kakashi-sensei, huh?"

"Kakashi… sensei?"

* * *

" _Ohaiyo, Sempai." Lying, as it was late, far too late._

" _Yo, if it isn't my cute little kohai." Not bothering to let one measly eye drift away from his book as he approached the teen casually, three hours past due. "What can I do for you today?"_

" _Ne, you were the Fourth's student, right? What was he like?" Saying not a word of the man's other promises, anxious for that one thing._

" _Hmm… that's an interesting question. I'd have to say…" A page turned in the same book read for fifteen years. "Different."_

" _Different?" Familiar irritation, nostalgic pout. "Different than what?"_

 _Different than being his son._

* * *

"Not sure I can imagine the man as a teacher." Naruto shook his head, wondering why these thoughts manifested now.

"Tajῡ, Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!"

A moment's distraction unveiled a veritable grove of orange and black. A truly impressive number of clones… had he not been capable of making just as many.

"Is that the only thing he taught you?" Response was a wall of war cries ruffling his black clothes. "Alright, let me show you something I taught myself…"

Broadly sweeping his weapon as if to vanish the objectionable sight under the rug- wish becoming reality as the blade of air sliced through the ranks like they were nothing more than dust bunnies. Yet, in both cases, there was always more.

He dealt with these just the same. One swing, two, three. Vast swaths of smoke filled the air and a few clones managed to get within striking distance amidst the confusion.

"You're not going to bring me down."

Matter-of-factly stated, he made good on this promise as he dispelled the vibrant clones left and right. Two charging he swept them off their feet, burying his blade in another, launching himself off its dumbstruck expression and splaying his legs into two more, landing on the ground in a crouch and ducking underneath mirrored punches which passed over his head, jamming the scythe upwards and snapping shut two jaws, pirouetting on the ball of his foot and carving a whirlpool of destruction in every direction.

"Why don't you just give up?" Standing, pleading over this other who was bent double in exertion, hands braced against his orange-striped trousers.

"You should know… I can't." Getting a second wind, rising to a less than impressive height which was just a hair under his. "I have to be able to use the Kyῡbi's Chakra. That's why I have to win." Like claps, four clones popped into existence. Two began to form Rasengan in each palm while the other two stood vanguard. "Everyone's counting on me."

"Dummy. That's my line." Wearily he sighed, already tired of this Sisyphean task. "Only one of us should exist here, and it should be the one most capable of succeeding." Regarding the feral smirk of his doppelganger as if this determination had already been made.

"Let the best man win." Oscillating tones from the swirling spheres rang loud in this hollow arena, like church bells of the mind.

"I swear, I will do everything in my power to protect them." Quashing defiant thoughts under insurmountable pressure of resolution.

"Arrogant bastard." Sneer floated like a paper scroll on a torrential wind which developed out of that nothingness.

Arrogant? Maybe. He was willing to admit that. Was willing to admit all his faults, his selfishness, his hypocrisy, his faithfulness- yes that one most of all. These he would happily take on, sacrifice everything else, including this persona of doubt, with a smile on his face so long as it preserved the one on hers.

"I will. I'm going to."

They charged.

Slow, so slow. How could this image be anything but a travesty of him?

"I can't lose. Not now."

One orange clone turned gunmetal gray, limbs into four honed points which spun as it was flung at him with a fury.

"I can lose myself, but not them."

Bringing that crescent blade across his body, rending the non-space in twain as precious air was born and bent to his whim. The fuma-shuriken clone split, then the one holding it. Finished with the dual Rasengan, two more broke off and became fodder for his unstoppable blade. Last one hung back, kept coming.

"I won't lose her. Not again."

Palms cupping the two swirling attacks collided around his razorback hurricane- the sound of one hand clapping, of a tree falling in an empty forest.

Catching his wind blade.

Watching with twin skies wide with impossibility, he stood dumbfounded as Naruto (the shade, the real him?) halted his attack. Stopped it, redirected it, wrangled it into submission as he lassoed the storm.

"Quit being so full of yourself!" Yelling this over the cacophony even as his orange jacket was being torn apart, Naruto strained against the living breeze like a clowder of cats in his arms tearing their claws into him.

With an effort that could have lifted the shroud of nothingness from around them, Naruto threw the amorphous attack into the distance, far away from either of them where it erupted in silence.

"Oof!"

Giving no time for him to recover from this herculean feat, Ruby's Naruto slammed the back end of _Radiant Thorn_ into the Other's stomach, bashing him away like a baseball.

"I won't hold back." Excusing himself with this lie to his mirror image picking himself off the ground with even more effort than what it took to redirect the jutsu. Undeniably a painful sight, he frowned in great disappointment- at himself. "Please, can't you just give in? Just admit that I'm him. I'm Naruto."

"Ya' know, I wonder…" Spitting a glob of blood on that pristinely blank surface, modern art he admired as he propped himself up shakily on his hands. "What kind of Naruto do you think you are, so willing to just give yourself up? I've never known him to be such a loser- no, such a damn liar. I made a promise to her, and I intend to keep it."

"You? Promised her?" The leniency which reversed his blade at the last moment was forgotten like a dream. "You don't even know her! How dare you claim anything about her you- you…!"

"-The hell do you mean I don't know her?!" Wiping the muddy trail from his mouth onto the back of his hand clenched in rage. "I've known Sakura-chan since we've been in the academy!"

"Sakura?" Wracking his mind for the other parts to that name. "Haruno-san? Sakura Haruno? What does she have to do with this?"

* * *

" _Hey- you better not be thinking about skipping out on your post-mission checkup, are you?"_

 _Happiness in the air, the feeling of a job well done. Turning to see a smile like an early spring._

" _Huh? But I feel fine! You did a great job healing me up back in Iwa."_

 _Knuckles rapping on his head, knocking on the door asking to be let in._

" _Ow." Exclaimed playfully, eyes rolled playfully._

" _Just go get the checkup Naruto-san."_

" _Hai, hai."_

 _Turning with a heedless wave, only to be called back in the midst of walking away._

" _Promise me."_

 _Pink hair waving in the breeze, Sakura petals falling like her tears, like the pieces of that rose-colored world._

" _Promise me you'll bring him back. Bring Sasuke back to us."_

* * *

But Sasuke did come back, he was there, next to them in that scene. The script had deviated, that was not how things played out. This memory wasn't his, this was a…a…

Dream?

Whose was this? A nightmare of his fractioned mind. Or, possibly…

"Oi! I'm talking to you!" From hands to feet, learning to walk before he could crawl, Naruto regarded the bedraggled image with wary caution. "-The hell's up with you? Didn't you hear a word I said?"

Nothing the buffoon said could have been as important than what was running through his mind. "…always keep promises."

"Huh?"

"Ne," Self-doubt, that rope which was both a noose and a lifeline. "What did you promise her?"

"That I would bring Sasuke back to us, even if I had to break all of his bones to do it."

A fierce expression he could only regard as comical.

"-But you let him go?" A critical hit, worse than the one before as the Other's hand shot to an invisible wound on his chest. "You didn't succeed in the mission?"

"Shut up."

"You failed." Bold, heedless, infuriated- hypocritical by all means, but fear overruled all that, unable to put his faith in something that was so dangerously weak. "How can I believe you're the best version of me if you weren't strong enough?! You couldn't beat Sasuke back then, what can you hope to do now?!"

"SHUT UP!"

Snapping his mouth closed, nothing more to add because words could not express the vehement fury quite the way his face could. Other, head bowed, he knew the face of shame was reflected on that alabaster surface.

"…I wasn't strong enough, alright? Maybe I fooled around too much at the academy, didn't pay attention to the signs when they were there…" Confessing to himself, Naruto realized, sorely tempted to cut him down right then and there for this self-indulgence. Hypocrite-yes, cruel… he wasn't, was he?

"-But-!" Snapping up with no trace of that guilt he knew had been there. "That doesn't mean I'm going to quit! This is just the first step to getting stronger. And I'll do as much as it takes, as long as it takes. However, I won't ever cross that line, I won't become a monster like you!"

"Me?!" Horror, revulsion, fury noticeably absent.

"I'm willing to bet, if you were in that situation you would have fought with the intention to kill, right?! Just like you did here! Bastard- I bet you **did** kill your Sasuke!"

"What?! No! I-"

* * *

" _What I have is not a dream, because I will make it a reality…"_

 _A lonely child, one without dreams. What then do you see? When this ambition is gone, what remains?_

" _I'm suffering now because I had those ties, how on earth could you possibly understand how it feels, to lose all that?!"_

 _He couldn't. Wouldn't. He wouldn't lose her, even if he had to kill everyone else._

" _You were my best friend- Sasuke!"_

 _-Even his best friend, who was also doing his damnest to kill him. The two leapt at one another knowing that only one could exist._

 _That friendship thrown away, discarded, destroyed by the collision of two worlds. The pain of knowing it was his fault, searing, like a lightning-coated hand through his chest…_

" _I have long since closed my eyes… my only goal is in the darkness."_

* * *

"Get out of my head." There were too many, people, thoughts, everything. And then the person who had nothing…

"You think you're so badass, but you know, I think you missed out."

"Shut up."

"If you didn't have Kaka-sensei as a teacher, you probably never understood that those who break the rule are trash, but those who betray their friends are worse than trash."

Broken rules, broken everything. Every conceivable earthly law he had at one time flaunted, all for the sake of that paragnosis which would bring him happiness. In doing so, chipping away piece by piece from that once complete being. First a separate person, then just a person, now just… separate?

"Uzumaki Naruto would never sacrifice his friendships for anything!"

* * *

" _Promise me."_

 _The End of it all. The two of them face to face. Eyes pleading, such a dull color, so full of life. Gazing back, such a life, so vibrant, so empty._

" _Promise me, you'll come back."_

 _Emptiness, a vacuum fills rapidly with faces, color. People he had touched whilst sleepwalking through life, smiling back at him. Once feeling incomplete, bereft of that intangible piece, his soul wells up with pride, elation._

" _I swear, I will return."_

 _Wilted, rotten, plucked at the root-_

 _Humans, like weeds, always rise again towards the sun._

* * *

"Hey, you alright?"

Curled up on the ground like a cowering animal, head in hands and _Radiant Thorn_ lying uselessly on the ground, lifeless the both of them. Daring to look up only to be met with that vulpine expression of curiosity, eyes which were carbon copies of his own narrowed to a slit and head topped with blond hair cropped much shorter than how Ruby- than how _he_ liked it.

"…What the hell's wrong with you?" He asked up the other him, grumbling in chagrin as he was laughed at.

"Aren't I the one supposed to ask that? You keep saying weird things and then you just grabbed your head and collapsed."

"You're the one concerned with someone who was just trying to kill you." One of his hands inching towards his discarded weapon, only to stop when spotted by a reproachful look. "I could still do it, you know? I guarantee I'm in better shape right now."

Between the orange jacket torn to ribbons and the flak-vest which hardly had a scuff on it was one measure. But determination was indistinguishable on identical faces.

"Sure. How 'bout a five-minute break before we go back to killing each other?" Hand extended down to him, hesitating as he looked at his scythe languishing in eternity. Eventually he took it.

"You're weird." Said with a smile and a shake of his head as he was pulled to his feet, Naruto looked at his other which could be no other but himself.

"Yeah, well, forgiving people is kind of my thing."

"I thought it was saving people?"

"That too."

"S'pose I need to work on the former."

"Right…"

Instinct could only carry the conversation so far in this bizarre and unnatural world. Vast swaths of time passed in that endless expanse, surely exceeding the five-minute mark had either been wearing watches or even caring.

Unnatural, yet spontaneous. Moving forward whether they wanted to or not. And Naruto, coming to understand that this was true even in his isolated corner of this world.

"So… a scythe, huh?" Impulsively reaching for _Radiant Thorn_ , Naruto had to stop himself from snatching it back. "You have to admit," Curiously eyeing the serrated blade as he held it aloft. "It certainly adds to that whole 'evil Grim-Reaper' image you got going."

"Mm." Half hum of agreement, half growl as he stayed his hand and his mouth admirably. " _Radiant Thorn_." Quizzical eye turned to him. "That's its name. It's… it's her weapon."

Truth was a bitter pill to swallow, but finally admitting that was part of the cure, part of moving forward.

"She must be special." A smile, a knowing smile.

"Yeah." In shame, looking towards his feet, not expecting to see the knurled haft thrust into his vision.

"Here." He looked up to see the mirror-like blade and his shocked reflection in it. "You still have to see her, right? You'll want to give it back to her."

The metal was cool to the touch, a comfort, soothing, something both tangible and real.

"Thanks." Realizing the implication. "Does that mean you give up?"

The other blond snorted, wiping his nose on the tattered remains of his brightly colored jacket.

"No way! Why can't there be two of us, anyways? I still don't get that."

"Because…" Looking for an answer, but finding only a mind emptier than the nothingness they were in. "…I'm me." Me and Ruby.

"And I'm me, too. There's room enough for us both to be Me." Spreading his arms wide, illustrating the vast eternity around them.

"But how?"

"I dunno. Accident. Chance. Fate-" Both shuddered. "Does it really matter?"

"I suppose not." Silence, reminding them they were alone in nothing. "What now?"

"Why do you keep expecting me to have the answers?!" Throwing his hands up, illustrating his disheveled state which really should have been a good indicator. "Look, you're kinda messed up- but an okay guy, so I know you're not my darkness. I still have to find that guy and beat him up, alright? I guess you have to do the same."

"Right." Clutching _Radiant Thorn_ tight to his side. "It seems like we both have somewhere to be."

"Yup! So long, Other Me!"

"Wait!"

In this eternity, everything was happening too fast. His mouth working before his mind, questions he wanted to ask had no time to be conceived. And yet he was still running out of time.

"-You do know Kyῡbi's not his name, right?" Blank expression reassuring him. "You should ask him. He's an okay guy too."

"'K! Catch you later!"

Watching himself disappear into nowhere with a smile and a shake of his head.

"I really am a fool."

* * *

" _There_ you are."

Statement prickly and cold, meant to ward off any would-be intruders.

"Here I am!" Attitude blazing like the sun, unbidden by this defense and mounting a surprise pincer attack against that isolationist nation. "I knew you'd miss me!"

"Hey! Get off me you… dolt!"

Not prepared for such a brazen trespass of her sovereignty, the flying embrace launched from on high nearly sent the two of them tumbling down the amphitheater steps. It was a calculated risk though, Ruby knowing without a doubt her other two teammates would be quick to catch them before they fell.

"I'm sorry. I promise, I won't keep you waiting like that ever again." A promise not made lightly, Weiss appeared uncomfortable with its weight glommed on around her waist.

"I-Idiot!" Burning flush threatening to melt that icy shell. "Don't say things like that!"

Never saying what she didn't mean, no excuses for Ruby as she took on all blame herself. Responsibility was the only fair answer to her friends and comrades who unfathomably placed their faith in her. She would never hesitate to do the same.

"Sorry I missed your match, you guys." Smile unmolested by Weiss's hands against her face trying to pry her off. "I never doubted you'd win."

Being literally underneath a rock the entire time, she had no way of knowing if they had truly emerged victorious- yet she still had no doubt.

"Aw, thanks sis!" Accepting of this apology and bathing in the unwavering confidence in one fell swoop found Yang integrated into the growing group-hug.

"Gah! No, Yang! Not you too! Blake, help!"

Said dark-haired girl was more than content to watch with a smirk of amusement from the sidelines. But once her presence was noted by Weiss, she became fair target for Yang who reached out to snag her partner while keeping one overarching arm latched around the other two.

With her months of experience in dealing with her overt partner, Blake had no issues slipping out of Yang's grasp. Despite the same amount of time dealing with the blonde's sister, she could not escape her determination when Ruby simply transported the three of them around her using her semblance. Yang was all too happy to go along with her sister's whim, squeezing her partner in her wide-reaching embrace which now encompassed the entire team.

"What in the name of Remnant has gotten into you?!" Weiss shouted, incapable of caring about the milling crowd turning their heads towards the odd reunion while she struggled to breathe.

"Nothin'." Ruby asserted, squeezing even harder while being squashed in return so that the universe might never tear them apart.

It was the truth, in a way. Admittedly happy, though no more so than she should always be knowing that she had friends like these on her side. Hopeful, even though she knew that the future would always hold equal parts joy and heartbreak. Fearful, but never more than what was due. These things were forever omnipresent, but presented themselves now more visibly to her in a life that seemed to be getting shorter by the day.

The lie was that she was running out of time, and wanted to enjoy every moment of this world as it stood.

Nothing had changed, and yet everything did.

* * *

"So," Changed from battle gear into more casual dress (and thankful that they had broken from the team-amoeba long before that), Weiss regarded her compatriots who were reveling in their downtime. "Who are we going to put forth for the single's rounds?"

"Not it." A disinterested hand raising behind a nose buried in an orange-backed book.

"Yeah, I'ma have to go with Blakey on this one." Yang agreed, flopping back into her bottom bunk and arching her back in an accustomed manner which made her partner's ear's twitch. "I'm pooped after that last match. Of course, I knew there was no way we'd lose, but I didn't expect those two to put up such a fight."

Two quick nay votes left very few options and Ruby was quick to yield her nomination, having already experienced the spotlight too much for two lifetimes.

"You should do it." Weiss sighed at the sight of her partner's lockjaw, already sensing what the likely question was to be. "I know we've had our contentions, but I'm not too prideful to admit you're the better fighter, Ruby. No matter who else ends up in the finals, you've already demonstrated you can go toe to toe with Pyrrha. Let's face it, if you can do that, you can handle anything this tournament throws at you."

Honestly surprised by this humility and unprejudiced opinion, Ruby was left stunned but no less hesitant about competing. Memories from the Chῡnin exam stirring paranoia even now. Not to mention that she eagerly awaited Naruto's arrival, and did not want to miss out being the first to greet him.

And what would he see upon that arrival? A selfish and reliant girl or a strong and independent woman who could throw down with the best of them? This was the chance to demonstrate how far she had come as an individual, rather than the biased image presented through parasitic eyes.

Not that her ego needed this boost. She required no reassurances anymore. From the tip of that cold steel nearly overflowing in her petite grip, to the way her body metamorphosed from an unwieldy pubescent to an ethereal muse when pushing the limits of acceleration. She was comfortable with her strengths and her faults.

-But this wasn't for her. The moment of silence in which she contemplated was for those who weren't quite at that point of contentment yet, Weiss staring at her hopefully, pleadingly, demandingly. Asking her to return a victory.

Who was she not to oblige?

"Alright." Ruby agreed with a smile, coaxing something approximate on the face of her partner. "I guess it's my turn, huh?"

* * *

"Ho, ho, them stiffs won't never know! Killer B's made it so!"

Taking this to mean that his cohort had completed his task of distracting their Kumo minders, Naruto didn't bother looking up from the intricate seal array he was studiously applying to a cleared patch of shell.

"-But B's further cooperation you gotta earn, now it be your turn!"

"Working on it." Naruto mumbled, still intensely focused on a horned seraph under his brush.

"Well, don't meanin' to rush, but-"

"I'm almost done."

While snapping at B wasn't his intention, the teenage Jinchῡriki was too nervous to be anything but on edge, and the truth was that he had no idea how close he actually was to finishing because nothing like this seal had ever been attempted. Equal parts research, divination, deep-dives into Kurama's memories, notes he'd 'borrowed' from Jiraiya and good old-fashioned guesswork, the completeness of the construct would forever be in doubt until they went ahead and tried it.

"The suspense be mountin', you got 'bout five minutes and countin'."

He would have been upset except that he could hear the anxious fingering of the man's eight swords strapped to his body, meaning that B was every bit as excited and nervous as he was.

-Well, that was probably a lie. But it was getting closer to the truth the more time he spent scribing what looked like a drunken spirograph.

Time though, was running out. Literally.

He had only realized about one-pair week ago. In all likelihood, the ailment had started some time long before that and they simply hadn't noticed because of its slow progression. At first, it only erased the beginning and ends of each day, monotonous scenes of waking, washing, dressing, eating, resting. Events differing so little between them, between each day, neither noticed when these wee hours were skipped like credits to a TV show binge. Only when whole chunks of the day vanished with a wink did they realize that something was drastically wrong.

If Ozpin's machine didn't exacerbate this, it at least made it obvious. The period when Ruby fell under its influence was like a glitching video to him, skipping, freezing, delaying those precious seconds.

Why was unknown, just like everything else about them. What exactly also wasn't quite clear as they struggled to make sense of fractionated memories and images scrounged together like two jigsaw-puzzles thrown together on the floor with pieces getting lost in the carpet and under the couch.

All they knew was what it portended, and that it would soon go beyond stealing from them the twilight haze bookending dawn and dusk. Soon, it would take everything.

-Not if he could help it, Naruto insisted, finishing the last arabesque tail with an added flourish.

Despite it all, he stared back at his masterpiece with a smile which pierced the sweat and grime matted on his skin.

He stood cautiously, staving off that creeping blackness framing his vision and finding himself steadied by a firm but kind hand. Nodding to his fellow Jinchῡriki and stepping as if each of the labyrinthine lines were tripwires (though they practically were), Naruto positioned his half-naked body in the center of the spiral.

"It's all there?" From the safety of the margin, the dark-skinned man questioned with a raised eyebrow.

Naruto smirked. "Almost." Reopening the shallow wound that had leaked slowly throughout his work, he swiped the freshly blooded finger on the rudimentary storage seal resting just over his heart. "It's just missing a pair."

Ignoring the wince from phantom pain and his unintentional rhyming, Naruto withdrew what lay inside with the same sort of precaution and wariness with which he trod over the magic circle.

Anticlimactically emerging from the small puff of smoke, glazed violet marbles stared up at him from his palm. Taken aback for the span of a few heartbeats, their clean, waxy appearance looked fake sitting all by their lonesome without a face to frame them. Even after he felt the static presence of chakra within, the legendary eyes never stopped looking unreal. Like some kind of blown-glass trinket instead of the almighty gifts they really were.

Throughout, B stood silently vanguard. Admirably splitting his attention between the Rinnegan and their surroundings.

" _Kurama,"_ With the real-deal in front of him, the illusion on Naruto was lifted and he suddenly realized a hitch in their plan. _"What are the chances of the eyes staying back here when we go over? There's no way we can just leave them here unguarded."_

Contentedly silent for several hours, now speaking up immediately as any restful notion was banished the moment those eyes were unveiled to the world.

" _ **Unlikely."**_ Gruffness covering up any personally-held concerns. _**"If they aren't destroyed by the effort, they will stick with us as any other physical object in the seal."**_

Naruto looked over to B, as if the man could understand and weigh in on the decision he was about to make.

"Well? What you be waiting for? Time to open the door!"

Blinking in the face of such irreverence, Naruto found himself stunned with B's recklessness.

-Until he found himself laughing that is. Naruto realized that B wasn't the type to make rash decisions. He knew fully well the possible consequences of their sojourn. What he was trying to relate in his own unique way, was that despite all the words to the contrary, of duty, professionalism, lack of fraternity between them, B _trusted_ him.

Gently cupping those morbid accessories, he appreciated the irony of it all with a snort. Nothing specific, just… everything.

"Ready?"

He asked all who were listening, the forest shrinking back and going mute as it wanted nothing to do with this venture.

A thumbs up from B along with an ear-splitting grin.

A distracted grunt like indigestion from within.

Himself… was he ready? It was a lot to be betting on this lightyear-longshot. Even Uzumaki luck should cash out with these astronomical odds. So much could go wrong, a galactic-sized scale weighed the balance with consequences bordering on the unfathomable. Was it worth the risk?

No.

One existence, no matter how high in esteem it is held, cannot be compared to a universe of life. It was not a fair trade.

Forever an unbalance. Disparity, of luck, wealth, happiness, virtue. This was life. Balance was stagnant, unchanging, dead. A ball rolls down a slope, heat transfers to cold, air flows into a vacuum. Life moved forward on the gumption of others who upset the status quo.

"He who dares…"

Pushing a little bit of their combine chakra into the eyes which suddenly came alive, pulsating with warmth from a celestial body that was threatening to burn a hole in his hand. He was forced to drop them where they rolled with exasperation into a head that wasn't there, the blood-black seals being swept up into that pinprick tear in the universe.

A little push, a little prick, a tear, a rip in a world as delicate as a balloon. Flowing into

Nothing.

* * *

"You know, no matter how many times I gaze up at the night sky, I always find something new."

Regarding the headmaster with a foreign curiosity, Ruby chose to remain silent in her corner. Not knowing if the man was talking to her- or even, really, what she was doing up at such an hour. It was far past when the call of sleep would beckon her, and she was worried.

"We know so much about how the world works, enough to lift us out of our stone caves and mud hovels into these glistening ivory towers." Gesturing off to the darkened lighthouse perched high and standing guard over the carefully stacked castle. "Yet, no matter how high we climb, it seems like we are bound to the mundane and earthly. Never to understand the mysteries of the heavens." Fragmented chunks of the moon floated there amidst the sugar-dusted night sky, always more of a metaphor than a question.

"Long ago, people at least used to speculate about the universe beyond our planet. Instead of looking at it with fear and suspicion, they tried to understand it. They constructed relationships now long since forgotten about how light travels at unprecedented speeds and vast distances from out in the cosmos just to reach us. Years, centuries, millennia- looking at each of those stars is like looking at a snapshot in time, records of a bygone era."

"But I thought you said that each time you saw something new?" Not the words getting the better of her, but her own curiosity. "If it's new, how can it be old? How can we understand something yet still have it remain a mystery?"

Silence. A chuckle, like the twinkling of the stars overhead.

"That's the question, isn't it?"

"Why did you call me up here?" Time had been running out, but now had stopped. It was late, too late, and she was ever so tired.

"You will find that I don't have all the answers, Ruby." Turning back to his student, his disciple, his agent, his ward, Ruby could see the same weariness in his eyes. "-And for that I am sorry. Right now, in fact, I hardly have any answers at all. I feel adrift like light lost amongst those stars, never to find its way again."

Admitting this was a large, bitter pill which he swallowed heavily without any cocoa to sooth the burn.

"I am sorry that I have to rely on you, to place such a heavy burden on your shoulders. You, who knows so little about this wicked history, I believe yet holds the answers whether you realize it or not."

Steadfast in her stance, Ruby remained unaffected by this weight, wondering if she had been unknowingly shouldering it all along. Inherently, she already knew that come tomorrow, everything would change one way or another. How she knew was perhaps one of those paranormal answers Ozpin believed were in her DNA.

"Whatever happens next…" Not looking at her or the school anymore, but at the dark clouds pooling around jagged mountain peaks like wads of seaweed drowning the sea of stars. "Whatever happens, I hope you can forgive those of us who ruined this world, and try to salvage something from what is left."

* * *

Dark clouds like a funeral pall had been pulled overhead, smothering Vale's skyline and turning those glistening skyscrapers into gray tombstones. Unlike a summer storm which brought cool relief, this overcast ushered an unseasonable winter which seemed to chill the bone and prickled nerves.

Swaddled in her woolen cloak, Ruby looked up unbidden at the sky with the slightest smile on her face despite knowing that something ominous was afoot. Between the crimson cape and the unnamed armament in her hands, she was ready to beat back anything which came her way.

This is what she truly believed.

Pulling back her cowl with the first raindrop summoned by the heavens, she let the thunder of the crowd wash over her.

"Salutations!" A smile and a wave like a bright red umbrella caught her eye across the arena. "My name is Penny! It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Let's have a fun match, and maybe we can be friends afterwards!"

Smile blossomed with nurturing, Ruby accepted this distinctive greeting with the same enjoyment as one tasting a new candy, flavor familiar and identity on the tip of the tongue.

"Sure, sounds great."

"Fan-tastic!"

What was a gentle patter became a roar, the crowd a deluge of cheers and shouts rivaling the storm as the timer counted down to zero.

Lightning flashed.

With all the excitement and passion in her body Ruby struck away at the unexpected and novel defense of her opponent, the blunt edge of the kabutowari batting aside the rapiers commanded like marionets. And simultaneous fire from the integrated smoothbore revolver forced the ginger girl to move from her starting position.

Without an expression of surprise, the porcelain-skinned doll moved like a puppet herself, yanked up on those nigh-invisible strings to dodge the scattershot. All the while commanding her contingent of swords in a graceful ballet which leapt around Ruby's frenetic brake-dance.

Falling to her back leg, the copper girl waved her hand across the battleground and swept up her blades with this movement. A tsunami of cutting edges headed towards Ruby who gamboled through the inconsequential gaps, making light of the mincemeat grid before one again charging past the blank-faced girl in a flash of crimson.

Striking at that back leg which had most of her opponent's weight on it brought a surprise for both girls. Penny, as she found herself dropped to a knee, and Ruby who felt her hands tingle with the backlash from hitting such a solid object.

Screeching to a halt and depositing a black streak of rubber on the arena floor, Ruby turned quizzically back to the other seemingly diminutive girl. She had expected resistance, but not to this degree. Aura protection would have blunted the strike, reinforced the bones, but still would have not held up so heavily against such momentum.

Likewise, Penny had not expected such amount of brute force from the slim human even with her exceptional speed. With only trivial damage afflicted though, she was far faster to recover due to her nature.

Due to _her_ nature, Ruby was not one so easily distracted by the extraordinary, and was able to gather her wits before the swords gathered their plasma charge and blasted her out of the arena. The green rays left charred streaks in their wake which easily covered up Ruby's own skid marks as they tracked her throughout the ring.

Ear-splitting grin obscured within that blur of movement, Ruby found herself enjoying every aspect of this battle despite her earlier protests. Having experienced a similar fighting style, some might have said she had unfair experience. However, her greatest benefit was without a doubt the ability to roll with the punches.

Though the General had likely made her aware of all the legends surrounding the girl, Penny would still be woefully unprepared for the reality of the fight, her logical mind stymied by the contradictions which constituted Ruby Rose.

It was the same. It was different. She had faced a puppet-master before- she had never faced anyone like this. The emptiness in those green eyes were a fecund tidepool ready to give birth to new ideas with one good spark- a spark Ruby was more than happy to provide as silver eyes glistened like flint. In Penny she found a fertile field ready to plant new ideas, and someone she would be more than happy to call a friend when all was said and done.

In order to till the soil, first she had to break the earth.

The fingers of green fire intermeshed in a deadly web that hemmed her in on every side. There was no way out except through the roof or underground. So, she did neither, slipping straight through the scalding net like it was nothing more than a projection- but she was the projection, the illusion of a human amidst the faded mannequins.

Nothing visible changed with this rose-colored projectile flying at her, not a hair out of place or a ruffle in her catalogue dress as Penny retracted her weapons to defense. No indication or facial que either to tell when she suddenly reversed this strategy and went on the attack, lunging at the trailing edge of the Beacon student with both hands flinging her swords at ghostly images.

Like the rain they pelted the floor all around, and just like the heavens they couldn't seem to touch her. Bobbing and weaving in and out of the automatic loom trying to hem her in- she realized that the blades weren't trying to hit her but rather herd her into a corner where the sturdy girl could deal with her in close-quarters. Getting bored of the stalemate they otherwise seemed to be in, Ruby decided she would allow herself to be led and see where it went.

After all, she didn't have anything to lose.

Sure enough, briefly touching down on the balls of her foot was enough of a pause to realize that there was a blade already waiting for her, preventing her from dodging further to the right. Hearing the displaced air akin to the flight of a shuriken told her that she wouldn't be able to move left, either. Toying with the idea of escaping anyway, she was preempted in this thought by a rapid-fire onslaught of blades descending on her. Once again using the kabutowari purely for defense, she knocked the projectiles away one after the other with tight motions like paddling a kayak.

Counting down in her head, when the last sword flew at her, she pirouetted on her forward foot and batted this one straight back at Penny who for the first time since the match started showed anything other than detached focus on her unblemished face.

Crossing her arms, Penny intercepted her own weapon without a flinch even as it sawed through her linen sleeves. Not dropping them as Ruby planted a worn-out boot in the same place, forcing the other girl back only a half-step. Confusion disregarded, the crimson-hooded girl continued her assault, dispelling the notion that she was purely a long-range fighter.

Though it appeared Penny aimed to do the same, quickly recalling two of her blades which slipped perfectly into her petite grip like a model-kit, she attacked back with mechanical ferocity.

Heavy blows caused orange sparks to flee from the two with every blow, the same color orange as the streaks which appeared to glow on either side of the dull weapon. Four more rapiers joined in the assault against her, held aloft by invisible hands even as Penny hammered away at her defense with the same unprecedented strength.

For the crowd, it was the only thing they could see from their vantage on high. The arena darkened by rain and the drowned sun, fireflies duked it out in blackness bathed in white noise where not even the announcers could make heads or tails.

For Ruby, it was a religious experience- more than that, because it was actually happening.

She was losing.

If she was as strong as her sister, she might have done some damage. If she was as cunning as Blake she might have thought up a winning strategy. If she was as disciplined as Weiss, she wouldn't be having so much fun that she could ignore all that and just swim through the battle, a shooting star through space.

Penny was both strong and fast, and also seemed to have an uncanny ability to sense her even in these trying conditions. Where Ruby's hearing was dulled by the pelting rain like snare drums, her silver eyes squinted and blurred and her footing barely holding steady with the cleats of Aura she projected downward, Penny was unaffected by it all. Here was someone her age who outclassed her in every aspect despite the advantages she should have held.

She was frustrated.

She was furious.

She was elated.

Here was someone in her world who surpassed her, someone she could compare herself with on an even level. No healing ability, no legendary heritage, no demon bequeathing OP abilities to skew the measure.

Someone she could aspire to surpass.

Even being knocked back by three consecutive blows and flying weightlessly through the liquified air, she had a smile on her face.

Landing unsteadily on her feet and quickly dropping to all fours, sopping-wet hair veiling her face contorted with manic joy and ragged breath. Summoning up strength from the same bottomless pool she imagined resided in all of them, she leaned on the kabutowari and pushed herself up through the atmosphere crashing down on top.

Once on her feet, she allowed one deep breath to collect herself. To collect everything that she let loose and to inhale those living details of every surface.

And then another breath to take a step forward. Another to counter the two glowing blades brought to cut her down. Another to push against their overbearing strength and drive their brethren back. One more to strike a blow of her own, crashing against an iron barricade reinforced solely against her.

With every breath she became stronger, with every strike she felt more alive.

All those other things faded away into the amorphous backdrop, and there was left nothing but her and her opponent. Even the cautious anticipation of Naruto's arrival became but a passing thought against the present moment. More than visceral, more than real, it was the only truth which existed in her one-track mind as it blissed out on that deadly intimacy.

At least, it was until unreality came knocking once again.

Abruptly, everything stopped with the blink of something like lightning, only soundlessly and without any actual light. The two combatants stood stock still, spread out equidistant from one another in the center of the ring.

Orange mane of hair matted to her face which shed water like glass, Penny blinked and forced an expression of surprise at the intrusion to their sanctioned match. Across from her and the black-cloaked figure in between them, Ruby formed a much more believable face of shock, the trancelike state sloughed off as easily as the rain ran down her now soaked cape.

"Excuse me, who are you?" Cocking her head, Penny tried to work through the logical inconsistencies to this turn of events.

No matter how outlandish, there was only one possibility within the mind of the dreamer as she squinted at the wishfully-familiar silhouette.

Except…

"Naruto?" Spiky hair she knew turned in her direction, and she was treated with a mask in his favorite color staring at her with a single eyehole.

"You're not Naruto."

The figure giggled, a disturbing and high-pitched sound that went unhindered by the downpour. Whatever wavering doubt had been in her assumption was promptly cast aside as easily as her cloak which weighed her down and covered up the menacing presence of the kabutowari by her side.

"Nope!" It chirped. "But don't worry, Tobi's a good boy!"


	35. Inferno

"Um, Excuse me, Mr. Tobi?"

"Eh? Oh, hey there, Other Girl! Tobi didn't see you!"

The moment the masked man took his sight off her to respond to Penny, Ruby considered striking him down with everything she had. Rationale fought against her, but she pushed back against the notion like she always had. Only her team had kept her 'sane' thus far, and they were presumably still up in the stands, hopefully watching this surreal scene play out.

Ignorant and unaffected by whatever foreboding air this man (judging by the voice) was exuding, Penny smiled back with in response to the light tone.

"Salutations! My name is Penny, and it's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Tobi." The painted smile on her face though quickly melted in the rain. "But I am afraid that I'll have to ask you to leave as this is a tournament match and you aren't allowed to be here. You could potentially get hurt if you were to remain."

More than a potential, if the cloaked figure stood there any longer Ruby was going to make it a guarantee. And unconsciously, her body agreed to this, foot obeying gut instinct and edging its way towards the man as her finger caressed the recessed trigger of her weapon.

Then he turned to look at her and she froze. Without seeing, 'Tobi' had been able to read her intentions and without speaking he had warned her not to go through with it. The single eye hidden behind his mask arranged as a whirlpool laughed at her, a far more sinister chuckle than the verbal one he regurgitated right after.

"Maa, maa, don't worry about Tobi, Penny-san!" Turning back to the other girl with none of the menace remaining in his aloof stance, he gave the blinking ginger girl a thumbs-up. "Tobi is strong!"

With the same fortitude she used to continue her match, Ruby pushed past this overbearing pressure which was mounting crushing her every second the man remained. She began to move towards her former adversary, a warning already trying to force its way through lips that weren't fast enough.

She wasn't fast enough.

"…Still, I must insist-"

The freckled girl's expression which had remained virtually unchanged throughout their match was suddenly and hideously deformed by a fist which appeared out of nowhere, white porcelain skin molding around jagged knuckles and bone caving under the intensity of a freight train. Ruby blinked and missed where Penny was thrown as she was unceremoniously stricken out of the ring.

"See!" The orange mask turned back to her and Ruby repressed a shiver which had nothing to do with being soaked to the bone. "Tobi is a powerful ninja!"

This wasn't happening, this couldn't be happening, and yet…

"You're Akatsuki."

Spoken like she had expected this all along, no attempt to ignore the blood-red clouds decorating his cloak which were soaked so thoroughly as to be almost invisible against the black just now starting to turn damp.

"Ooh, Sugoi! You really are connected to Naruto-kun, eh?" Shoulders shook as he laughed again in that phony joy. "-But of course, Tobi already knew this."

Clutching the iron weapon until her fingers had gone numb, unfeeling of the cold rain running down her pale skin. Questions arose she knew were futile to ask right then and there. But they were no more so futile than her trying to take down this potential monster in front of her. There were so many unknowns which demanded answers, some reserved for her own conscience, asking if they hadn't brought about this outcome through their selfish actions. But what came out was:

"What are you doing here?"

"Eh?" Orange mask cocked to the side in a travesty of childish innocence. "Isn't it obvious?" Scratching his spiky hair quickly drooping in the rain, he seemed to decide that it probably wasn't and pointed that same finger at her like a gun. "I'm here for you, Ruby Rose!"

Panic that was expected, split in several directions now as she scanned their surroundings for any sign of another living person who could see them and witness this improbable circumstance. Someone who could validate this illusion, could rescue her from this nightmare. Tobi let her, and she could feel the cruel smile behind that gayly colored mask.

"Why?" Choking out the words as her mouth felt dry, despite the torrent trying to drown her.

Again, Tobi seemed to debate the merits of this question as he settled into a contemplation that was perhaps even more chilling than his naïve persona.

"Simple, you're the bait." Making her believe it, feeling like nothing more than a worm flopping around above ground. "I know you are aware about the Rinnegan in Naruto-kun's possession. It is obvious his intention is to use it to come here. And when he does, it will be a simple matter to capture him and retrieve the eyes." A light shrugging of the shoulders underneath that heavy rain. "Well, less troublesome than trying to locate Turtle Island and deal with the Eight-Tails Jinchῡriki too. He can come later."

"I… see."

This was both true and not. Tobi's words felt almost expected, trite, and she knew that all along something like this would happen. Still, so much was left unknown, like why they wanted the dōjutsu in the first place or how the remnants of Akatsuki knew just when to strike.

Also, how she should feel about this. Helpless? Upset? Angry? Betrayed? In all truth, living with Naruto had never been easy, and perhaps her life would have been much simpler had he never entered it. Begrudge it though… that she could never do. Love was sharing burdens just as it was joy. No price could be put on that lofty high which could not be achieved on one's own.

"I see."

Despite the dark path ahead, she could. Only those who reached the stratosphere, get to see sun when it's raining down here.

"What are you doing, Ruby-san?" Sparks were born and died almost instantly as the iron bludgeon was held at a deadlock by a casual kunai.

"Isn't it obvious?" She asked with no small amount of cheek past clenched teeth.

"Hmm. Well, you are human, I guess." As if this was satisfactory, he dismissed the uncloaked girl with a kick of the same magnitude that sent Penny careening out of the ring. "-Prone to the same sort of foolhardiness and obstinance as any other. But do not fret-" Reaching behind him, Tobi used the kunai to block the kabutowari which suddenly appeared above his head. "-Once we are done with our own world, we will pacify this one as well. It will be a simple matter in comparison."

"Do you think we are that weak?" Emphasizing her point, Ruby detonated one of the chambers to give her strike an added boost, driving the masked man back.

"Yes." Unperturbed as if nothing in their world could even touch him- even the rain as he let Ruby sail straight through him his body before planting a foot into the small of her back and pinning her to the sopping puddling ground. "This world is simply inferior. Even with your technology and so called 'advanced' society, you are governed by the same prejudices and sins as our own. They have honestly made you even more complacent."

While he was talking, Ruby activated her semblance and slipped out from underneath the sandaled foot crushing her. But before she could even get a safe distance away, a fist reached out and plucked her out of the air, slamming into her stomach even when it didn't exist.

"I am sure that if we simply left you on your own, these so called 'Grimm' would eventually take care of you…" Reaching down towards her, Ruby attempted to smack his hand away only to have her weapon phase straight through his hand like a ghost. The groping appendage completed its journey and latched itself around her scrawny neck, picking her up as if she were a dressed goose. "However, we are not so cruel as to prolong your suffering. Aiding this Salem woman will simplify matters drastically, and when she is done we will step in and liberate both humanity and these 'Faunus'."

"You think… she trusts you?" Neck muscles as taught as harp strings, fingers prying at the iron grip around her throat. "You think she doesn't… know you will betray her?"

Silent question asked with a cock of his head, or maybe he was simply curious as to why the little girl was struggling so hard.

"No, I just don't think it matters. Compared to us, she is weak. Like you humans, her arrogance makes it easier-"

A boom like thunder cut off whatever Tobi was going to say in a fit of irony and blasted the hand holding her aloft.

Ruby found herself lying at the bottom of the sea, heavy, ears ringing like the tinkling of bells in the silence of drowning. Pushing herself to hands and knees, she fought her way to the surface even as her head continued to swim.

Almost breaching when a foot slammed into her and knocked the remaining air out of her lungs. Tumbling, she tried to roll back onto her feet and bring the kabutowari's barrel to bear once again, but found the weapon knocked brutishly out of her weak grip.

"Foolish girl."

Gone was the childish persona as Tobi's other hand grabbed a fistful of her hair and dragged her to her limp feet, the hand she had blasted to smithereens hanging carelessly by his side. Bringing her in close, his singular eye inspected the self-inflicted wounds on her face from the buckshot which had blasted through his limb and penetrated her aura.

"That was a risky move. You could have seriously hurt yourself." Never minding the grotesquely deformed hand and with ragged sleeve on the other side. "…Or was that your intention? You would kill yourself and deny us our pawn? I did not think this world had people with that kind of dedication. It must be the boy's influence."

Wincing as she smirked from one particularly deep scratch which ran from the corner of her mouth up past her nose, Ruby looked past the mask to meet the man's Sharingan eye.

"I don't think Naruto would forgive me if I died for the likes of you. Besides…" This close, it was impossible for her to miss the wad of blood and mucus she shot into his eyehole. Fighting against the pain of having chunks of her hair ripped out as Tobi flinched reflexively, Ruby lashed out with her knee and a minute boost of her semblance, driving it straight into the man's crotch.

"…You seriously underestimate me."

Tobi's response was swift and pitiless, the grand fireball spawning out of the darkness and evaporating the water droplets before they could even reach the ground. Ignoring the compounded strain on her body, Ruby dashed out of the way only to find herself having to dodge a forest of two-by-fours which erupted out of the tile floor. Moving like as a monkey through the caricatures of trees, she had to dodge branches like tentacles trying to restrain her.

These soon became the least of her worries as a black-clad hand ghosted through one of the trees to strike out at her. Purposefully slipping on the slick ground, she slid through the canopy of deadly roots and branches overhead. The remaining tread on her boots disappeared as put on the breaks and reversed her direction with an application of her semblance, just as that same hand shot through the brambles to snag her.

Alighting on the tip of one of those blocky trees, out of breath and shaking a bit from the amount of adrenaline coursing through her veins, Ruby surveyed what she could of the terraformed battleground looking for either her weapon or the Akatsuki. Never giving a thought to trying to escape, she knew that she was the only one who even stood a chance against the man knowing what he could be capable of.

She could not, however, keep from thinking about her friends and teammates who were somewhere out there past the curtain of rain. In this quasi-lull, she began to pick out other sounds which previously went unnoticed in the freneticism of her own fight.

The sounds of battle combat were unmistakable, and she felt her heart sink as she realized the implications.

"Perhaps you are correct." Just like the fireball, out of nowhere came Tobi, looking no worse for the wear and with his right hand restored to perfection. He flexed the appendage as he noticed her staring at it. "I keep forgetting just how stubborn and stupid your kind can be. Even against insurmountable odds."

"Yup." Ruby chirped, mocking the levity displayed earlier. "That sounds about right."

As the masked man stared at her she could almost feel the disappointment oozing off him and wondered just where this emotion came from. Ignoring it though, ignoring the stinging, she pulled down her eyelid and stuck out her tongue at him.

"If this is where your breed retreats to," Tobi formed a hand seal and Ruby repressed a flinch. "Perhaps your kind isn't worth saving."

"Fine by me." Ruby flexed her fingers, aching for something to do with them. "There's no way I'd want to belong to your screwed-up world anyway."

"What do you think you are doing?" Behind his mask, Tobi raised an eyebrow not at this declaration, but at Ruby's next action which mirrored his hand gesture. "That will never work, you know. You do not possess chakra and so hand seals are useless to you."

"See, that's your problem." Blowing a soaked strand of hair out of her face with a half-crazed smile. "You're so limited. You can't believe in anything extraordinary, so you don't even try."

"This isn't some sort of fairytale." Body locked in that casual rigidity and mask covering any facial queues, Ruby still caught the faintest hint of doubt in his otherwise monotonous voice. "Miracles don't happen just because you wish them to. Victory comes only through great sacrifice. Salvation is not from heavenly deliverance, but intervention by mortal hands."

"Exactly."

The only logical response to this sort of insanity was to try and quash it, which Tobi did with a water dragon birthed from the pelting rain.

But even this was cut off before it could deliver the point across by ionizing beams skewering it in what would be anatomically correct vital points all up and down its liquid body.

"Please cease and desist." Arising from the box Tobi thought he buried her in, the doll-like girl landed next to Ruby atop the blunted pikes. "This is your final warning. I have been authorized to use lethal force to subdue you."

"Penny!" Relived, for the both of them, Ruby greeted the other girl's return. "You're okay."

Though this was perhaps an exaggeration, for as unruffled as her former adversary held herself, her appearance said otherwise. Used, abused, and put away wet, Penny was every bit as bedraggled as Ruby herself felt. In fact, the platonically beautiful face was dented and scuffed, and there were patches of skin torn open to reveal…

"I apologize for my absence, as well as the interruption." Mechanically, cold, not looking at the living girl when she made her apology, Ruby realized then what that oddity she had been feeling the entire time during their fight. "I had to enact emergency repairs and seek clearance codes from my supervisor."

"You're a robot." Statement more than question, the malfunctioning tick it elicited did not escape her notice. "-But you're alive. You have an Aura."

"Yes." Confirmed while not taking her unblinking eyes off Tobi who continued to watch interestedly. "Though I believe the correct term is 'android'. I was created through Atlas military research as an anti-Grimm weapon."

"Right…" Sounding unsure only for a second, Ruby quickly realized that this fact didn't change much of anything in her mind. "Well, what say we postpone our match for later and just skip on to the being friends bit?"

"Really?!" Wide emerald eyes stared at her, and Ruby was happy to admit she couldn't tell the difference between them and a human's. "I mean- allying against this intruder would be wise *hic*."

"Absolutely." Turning with a vicious smile back to Tobi who appeared almost bored, Ruby cracked her knuckles in a manner similar to both her sister and her other. "Be careful though, this guy is gonna be tougher than anyone you've faced before."

"Acknowledged." Rolling her shoulders brought her contingent of weapons to swarm around her once again, poised menacingly against the masked man who had made nary a move. "Target displays multiple combat abilities: advanced hand-to-hand, proficient with bladed weapons, elemental abilities without the use of Dust crystals as well as an unknown time-space distortion ability that allows him to turn parts of his body intangible for an indeterminate period of time."

At this clinical assessment Tobi did in fact respond, shifting uncomfortably on his perch from one side to the other. What came next out of the artificial girl's mouth though was almost enough to get him to display actual emotion behind his concealing mask.

"…However, based on combat data thus far, while he is in this state he cannot physically interact with the environment. Meaning, this ability is purely defensive and he cannot attack using it."

"How very astute, it seems I have underestimated this world's technological advance-"

"- **Additionally** ," Whether spiteful or calculated, interrupting the man as the two of them had been unceremoniously interrupting the man interrupted did succeed in angering the Akatsuki. "It is likely that the target possesses a secondary ability or electronic enhancement that serves as a data and battle analysis tool."

"-The Sharingan." Remembering the glimpse she had caught behind the eyehole when she spit in it, Ruby clarified for her new comrade. "It's like a semblance ability. It gives him photographic memory along with the ability to copy fighting styles. He might also have other things he can do with it including that phase-thingy, but I don't know what else."

"Acknowledged." Rather than being intimidated by this, the barest hint of a smile formed on the android's otherwise impassive face. "Recommend immediate excising."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Ruby." Her question was answered by a familiar handle being pressed in front of her. "I advise you hang on to this. It is likely we will need everything in our arsenals for this."

"A fair assessment." Even while it was obvious he was mainly there to delay Ruby, Tobi growled, making it clear he was tired of being ignored. Then he too made ready for the coming conflagration by withdrawing a large gunbai and sword which he armed in each hand. "Though I doubt it will make much of a difference."

"Illogical." Face remaining stony whilst cocking her head, Penny proclaimed. "Enemy would not be equipping weapons if they did not also fear defeat."

"I want this to be a fair fight. It's called honor, something a heartless machine couldn't understand."

"No." Speaking up for Penny, Ruby took back the kabutowari from the frozen android's grasp. "Honor is sticking by your comrades, no matter what. It's pretty clear that **you** don't understand that."

Unnoticing of the man's flinch, Ruby tried to not to let herself become lost in the memories represented by the weapon in her hand which besieged her like the rain, not neither letting up in the slightest.

 _We could really use your help, Naruto._

One breath for this thought, banished by the one after.

By the third, nothing else existed for her except the girl by her side and the battle ahead. Her two hands, the weapon which rested in it, and the lightning strike which signaled the beginning and the end.

* * *

…Did he dare too much? Did he cross that undefined line from reckless to malicious and damn himself to eternal suffering in this dark, dank place?

Or, did he cross that **other** undefined line which separated heaven from heaven and heaven from earth?

Trying to answer his own question, he found his mouth devoid of everything but his tongue which felt like a wad of paper towels jammed in haphazardly. Parched, weak, disoriented and with a pounding headache. Without realizing, being the closest he would ever come to experiencing a massive hangover.

Groaning, he tried shifting over from his face onto his side in the hope it would feel better.

It didn't.

That wad of paper towels tried to expunge itself out of his mouth along with the contents of his empty stomach. After his body went through its own convulsions for what felt like an agonizing eternity, he rolled back over onto his back now that he knew he wasn't going to drown in his own vomit and gazed up at the cavernous ceiling high overhead.

Blinking in the diffuse light, he tried to place the distinctive arched gables against the natural stone within his memories which floated around inside his head in a flurry. It took a minute or dozen, but he succeeded and almost jumped up in elation when discovering where he was.

Except that all he was able to do was flop like a beached whale and groan silently as his head came back on the stone floor. After letting the tide of blackness transgress on his vision and finally recede, he attempted once again to move to a more useful position. Drawing on a remembered urgency, he dragged himself over to one of the stone pillars which appeared to have been carved in situ and propped his body up on it.

With his head level, everything floating around in it seemed to settle and he looked around the mostly empty space to take stock of what was there. Mostly, being the key word, as it was quite hard to miss the large, dark lump on the floor next to where he used to be. First attempting to swallow and then attempting to call out, he found himself failing on both accounts. Grimacing at his apparent muteness, he was made to recollect the image of another girl with a similar affliction. Ino? Natto? Theo? Helpless to recall her name as he was to form even the most basic sentence.

He was able to stand after a fashion, finding his balance with the help of the column and carefully trying to work his way over to his still unconscious comrade, clinging to him as one of the few memories he could rely upon.

"Who are you?"

Trundling to a halt, he carefully swiveled his hips while keeping his feet firmly planted to look at the originator of the voice.

He blinked slowly, as if doing so would clarify the already perfect specimen of womanhood in front of him., Hhe did so nonetheless for suspicion that she would be replaced by a nightmarish ogre.

"What are you doing here?" Clearly impatient, she changed the question when he failed to give an answer, and his still-functioning reptilian brain registered her confrontational movements.

He pointed to his throat, opening his mouth and closing it a few times before making the motions of drinking something. Hopeful that these simple gestures would survive any sort of translation.

Not relaxing her stance for a few seconds, the woman eventually relented with a snort, backtracking a few paces while still keeping him within eyesight. Prudent, though he doubted that feeling as he was he could do anything now even if he wanted to.

"Oooow, my head… better to stay in bead…"

Returning with a plastic water bottle in hand, both he and the woman turned their heads to his delirious comrade who appeared to be having an easier time shrugging off the effects of… whatever they did again.

"Who's that?" The woman snapped before a cognizant comprehension light flashed in her eyes. "Did Akatsuki send you?"

That flash like Morse Code transmitted the recollection to him. Suddenly everything was sorted in his mind and blank spots recalled. Of Remnant, of being a shinobi, of how they got here, of **why** they were here, and exactly who this woman was.

Not to mention the name which was on the tip of his tongue, vowing to visit Neo and thank her profusely on a later date for that last bit of info.

Irony once again part and parcel of reality, he smiled and he couldn't help but let a few silent chuckles wrack his body. Still, he made sure to nod once to the increasingly short-tempered woman before motioning for her to hand over the bottle.

Taking his nonchalance relaxed posture to be a positive sign, and although still slightly skeptical, she realized that she wasn't going to get any answers if he couldn't speak and tossed the container over to him.

Fumbling, he caught it, and was as quick to down the fluid as he would a bowl of noodles, the flimsy container being sucked flat by his desperation.

"Pah! Oh man, that's so much better, thanks!"

With a glare that could have turned a lesser man to ash, the woman opened her mouth to resume the interrogation but was interrupted once again.

"Oi, 'Ruto, where'd you go? Killer B's not feeling sublime… damnit, finding it hard to even rhyme."

"Sorry, 'B' there in a minute." Naruto responded back quietly to his friend, ignoring the scowl from the woman who clearly couldn't understand what they were saying and hoisting up the crumpled bottle. "Say, you wouldn't happen to have any more of these?"

"I don't have time for this." She spat, moving around him to stomp past in her high heals with a noise which was a clear discomfort to B. "I don't care if that moron Tobi sent you or not, if you're not here to help me with the Fall maiden then get out of my way. I've wasted enough time on you as it is."

"Funny, that." Remembering his own speed, he appeared in front of the raging woman who took a shocked step back and immediately summoned flames to either palm. The handheld torches crackled and danced in his eyes, shining, a sea at sunset in the darkness. "Time is something I'm kind of short on myself. And even if you don't realize it, it's partly your fault that I'm in this position, so I'd really appreciate it if you'd just hear me out, Ms. Fall."

"I hardly see how this affects me," Cinder countered cautiously, obviously unnerved that this strange teen who was younger than her own subordinates knew who she washer. "But I'll humor you another five seconds, so make it good."

"Sweet! Couldn't ask for more than that." Toothy grin stretching from cheek to cheek as he felt the conscious weight of the seal on his wrist with its precious contents. "So, anyway, I guess I better be fast, huh?"

He was, and if Cinder hadn't been anticipating a surprise attack from the moment she stepped into that underground cavern she probably wouldn't have been able to block the slash with obsidian vambraces which nonetheless shattered and sent her stumbling back on her stiletto shoes.

"So, I just have a little favor to ask of you…" Drawing forth the scythe from its storage seal had caused a minor gust in that stagnant chamber, snuffing out the emergency candles and leaving the two would-be combatants in almost abject darkness.

Almost, because Cinder chose that time to reignite her Maiden powers with a hellfire which swathed her like a robe, illuminating the unknown enemy and his scythe raised high above his head in the image of death itself. Suddenly the flames were not comforting to the woman, their warmth precipitating nervous sweat as she realized that they belonged not to her, but the demon standing in front.

"…Cinder Fall, go to Hell."

* * *

 _Why are humans so fascinated with Hell? Such a morbid preoccupation, if they are so fearful why do they not just try to avoid it? Rather, for every name it possesses, Hell, Tártaros, Yomi,_ _Niflheim, there exists a tale of mortals trying to cheat their comeuppance. In every culture there seems to be a tale of the underworld, of a heroic task to liberate a loved one from its eternal clutches._

 _It always ends badly._

 _In this story as with all the others, something has been lost in translation. Be it n And what of this tale, I wonder?_

 _What of me? Dante, Eurydice, Iazanami-no-Mikoto, Baldr- which one am I?_

 _And, more importantly, who is coming to rescue me?_

 _Wishful thinking, given the fact that I would not even know them if they did. My own story is lost to me, nuances, characters, events, plot, moral- if ever there was one to begin with, gone, along with my body._

 _I wonder if I would even recognize myself after all the time elapsed in this eternity. A portrait could be a mirror, and I would be none the wiser._

" _Why are you here?"_

 _It appeared all of a sudden- or had it been there all along? That which ruled over this internal realm, it encompassed my vision- everything I knew. One could therefore not say if it was gigantic, or if I were just totally insignificant._

" _Why have you come?"_

 _Front, back, around- there was nothing else but_ _ **this**_ _, and therefore I could not have come from anywhere. Let alone had a reason to abandon a life surely better than such loneliness._

" _Quiet? After all this time? Have you really nothing to say to me?"_

 _For want of a mouth to speak and an ear to listen, I would have babbled on end about nothing. But nothing was all I had._

 _It went silent and did not speak for a period in which I forgot if it had ever really spoken at all. I began to question if it had ever been, or if I had dreamed it up to stave off this hellish loneliness._

" _Why have you come?"_

 _Fated to repeat the same lines over and over again, just like every story ever told. Mine was no different._

" _Speak. Tell me why you are here."_

 _To be is not to ask why. Merely to exist from one moment to the next._

" _Speak."_

 _And if I did, would I then cease to be? To speak and tell my story… none of these stories ever ends well._

" _SPEAK!"_

" _I-I do not know."_

 _A new voice replied- the same voice- or was it my own?_

" _I think you do."_

" _I do not know." Parroting, a mockery of life._

" _Oh really?" Shaking, jiggling. A laugh, perhaps? "Just a second ago you thought you couldn't speak."_

" _I do not know." Still clinging to that lie._

" _Tell me." It would insist, not taking my answer for the truth. "Remember what you are doing here, who you are."_

" _I do not know."_

" _Remember."_

" _I don't know!"_

" _Remember!"_

" _I DON'T WANT TO?!"_

 _To remember that I was once a godly being, that I had friends, comrades, siblings, family. That would truly make this hell, and cement my place within it._

 _Its form morphed, changed. Were those… lips? Peeling back into an expression that like the truth was on the tip of my tongue._

" _There is the brash idiot I remember." Comforting, disconcerting that it knew, and I was still on that cusp, left behind yet again. "Now, all that is left is for you to as well."_

 _Enveloping me in its body, to the point where I could not tell where I ended, and it began. Eternal form, tails numbering the planets of the cosmos, heart and mind sun and moon, Yin and Yang in space. We were one and the same, after all._

" _Remember." Pleading._

" _Remember." Demanding._

" _Remember." Cooing._

" _Remember."_

 _So, I did._

* * *

This was the way things ended, huh?

Though she should have seen it coming, it was still somewhat of a letdown.

Not the Legions of demonic black beasts flooding through every crack in the wall created by a sacrilegious force of unscrupulous mortals alongside emotionless machines impossibly ignoring their prime directive.

That certainly helped, though.

It was just so chaotic, so nonsensical, so… insane. She had really been hoping that the end of things would be like the bottom of a whirlpool, the gunk at the bottom of the pot which had sat on the burner too long. Singular, distilled, all the bullshit and pretense bled out of her while she lay there with a feeling of accomplishment.

This was nothing like that.

Really though, this descent into madness had been a long time coming. Maybe she had even helped kick it off, leaving a perfectly good home to traipse halfway across the world out of nothing but spite- a truly illogical emotion if ever there was one.

She could have been forgiven for ignoring her own foibles. But her first warning of things to come was as obvious as it was asinine. Who launched their students off a cliff with a catapult, anyway? Furthermore, there was a _distinct_ difference between white and gold that should have told her that perceptions at this academy were drastically skewed.

Things only got worse from there.

If it wasn't bad enough that a girl two years too young to even think about becoming a huntress had been assigned as her leader, everyone around her also seemed to conveniently forget that _she was clinically insane!_

Midnight terrors, covert missions, secret conspiracies that upset all the conventional wisdom instilled to them in primary school- that was old hat to her by now. There was a period where things seemed to become almost 'normal' for a while, but maybe that was just her slowly adjusting to the psychosis which constantly surrounded them. The lull before the storm which would finally break her.

She would not let it.

When things had started going downhill in the arena, she had tried to maintain a display of discipline with evacuating the civilians being the top priority. She probably should have felt guilty for abandoning said leader to her abstractly violent fate. But despite previous statements, she knew the girl could take care of herself. Hell- she would probably thrive in this kind of environment.

The invasion of White Fang grunts she could handle- almost breathe a sigh of relief as she formulaically took them on in scores to relieve stress. Never mind how they had managed to get there in the first place, those Faunus could be crafty when they wanted to be.

Even the sudden influx of Grimm could be explained away with the individual battles tossed on the bonfire of emotions, calling the negativity-feeding beasts from all around the outskirts of Vale. It was not a welcome outcome, but hardly unexpected.

When the Atlesian Knights turned their guns on them though, she wanted to tear her hair out in frustration. At least she wouldn't have to worry about any gray in her already white head.

But this, this took the cake.

*Tack, tack, tack, tack, tack, tack, tack, tack.*

"Well, that's not good." An understatement and a grin which were their own kind of madness.

Casually dismantling another AK-200, Weiss turned back to witness the wry expression appear on the face of her comrade, a woman she both admired and respected for the discipline and professionalism displayed throughout their time in Beacon, and now, serving as its final bastion of defense.

"Tch. This is the last of my ammo." With a click of her tongue and an almost flirtatious sway of her hips, Coco Adel unwrapped the last belt draped around her waist and fed it into her Gatling gun.

Weiss checked her own supplies, noticing with a grim twist of her lips that she too was running dry.

"There's just too many of them!" Coco's teammate, the introverted girl Ruby had stuck up for in the cafeteria (an event that felt like a lifetime ago), declared as she hopped back next to them. An unaccustomed scowl decorated the demure Velvet Scarlatina's face as she bent double with her hands on resting her thighs.

"Perhaps we should fall back." Ever the immutable object in the face of this flood, Yatsuhashi Daiichi reasoned coolly while cutting down another Grimm with his appropriately massive sword. "Beacon's walls will slow them down, and we should be able to form some kind of defense in the hallways."

"NO!" In contrast to this reasonable assessment was the much more persuasive passion of a sister who was worried for her sibling. "Ruby's not here, she must still be up in the coliseum. We have to go back for her!" While conversing with her allies, a Beowulf managed to get past her defenses with a swipe that connected with her shoulder. This served only to get the blonde's attention as she spun on her heel and smacked the simpering beast into next week.

"We just! Have! To get! Past! These FUCKERS! FIRST!" Having long since run out of bullets herself, Yang's words rang as loud and clear as the unnerving sound of metal striking flesh. "Where the hell is Blake?!" Pausing for a quick breath and this demand, she blew a misplaced lock of blonde off her nose while never losing the crimson tint in her eyes. Her anger had long since surpassed concern for her hair.

"I saw her go apeshit on some White Fang before running off," Parrying the lunge of another Beowulf and pausing to deflect a plasma beam off his shield before disarming the mechanical knight, Jaune continued over the din of battle. "I'm sorry, I couldn't go after her." Grimacing, he used his frustration at the tip of his blade which drove into the downed robot.

"And where would we be if you did?" Trying to sound detached and objective, Ren couldn't help the bitter bite of his rhetoric as he realized it probably wouldn't make a difference. "In case you haven't noticed, we have our own problems."

Said problems surged at them, precipitating a rare curse and a redirection of attention in the raven-haired teen. A stampede of Boarbatusks rolled at him like tumbleweeds, his SMG's pelting uselessly at their armored hides. Half-lidded eyes never removed from his gun sights, Ren was fully prepared to die with a cool head and fingers on the triggers even as his partner barged into the fray from behind, smashing into the horde like a static-covered bowling ball.

"Where do these guys keep coming from?!" Ren replied to Nora with a grunt which was both a thanks and an admission of ignorance. "It's like a freaking arcade game!" She declared, playing Whack-a-Mole with a few more mechanical targets.

"Yeah, and we're running out of coins." Inserting his last two mags, Ren noticed that while his partner was going for a new high score, a Gryphon was diving strait for her from above. "Nora!"

Hammer embedded deep into the ground, even though the girl was able to notice the threat in time she could do nothing about it. Talons turned to spears hurtled at her. Head turned towards the sky and mouth agape, she shut her eyes in fear and resentment.

*THWAK! SPLAT!*

The sound of salvation was never so ignominious, and the Valkyrie was unceremoniously thrown forward on her face by the dead monster as it crashed right next to her.

"Pyrrha!"

"Nora!"

Dragging the orange-haired girl up by her armpits and holding her like a child, the Amazon of team JNPR laughed in relief as she spun the both of them until she too was dizzy.

"Pyrrha, what are you doing here?" Retrieving _Miló_ for the redhead and _Magnhilde_ for the orangette, Ren quickly made his way over to the rest of his team. "I thought Ozpin needed you for…?"

Changing the girl in her hands for her spear, Pyrrha shook her head solemnly. "No, Glynda intercepted me and said that someone had already gotten past the security underground. She didn't want me there in case… things got too bad."

Already ashen, Ren's face sunk further. Pyrrha was kind- almost too kind, but he could read behind her poorly disguised euphemisms.

 _They were too late._

All they knew about the Maidens was that their power was beyond measure. If Glynda went in alone, it meant that she thought there was no hope of winning. From her expression, Pyrrha realized this too, but neither could bring themselves to make their partners aware.

"Where's Ozpin?" Sadly, it appeared that neither of the others were fooled by this stiff upper lip, and Jaune was merely the only one amongst them still looking for the silver lining. "Why isn't he here?"

"I-I don't know."

No one wanted to say what they thought- that it was a lost cause, and the headmaster had already abandoned them. Or maybe he had already perished, in which case the upshot would be the same.

*Tack, tack, tack, tack, tack, tack, tack, tack.*

"Damnit."

In the ensuing silence, the telltale sound of dryfiring sounded like the drummer boy's rattle, urging retreat.

"That's it then." Glancing at either one of his machine-pistols, _Storm & Flower_, Ren sighed heavily and let himself droop under their weight. Eyelids losing the will to go on as well.

"No!"

While it was not surprising that there would be at least one to deny this unfavorable reality, to their combine shock it was a stern-faced Jaune who elbowed his way to the fore. "We can't give up! Not because it's heroic or brave, but because there's nothing else left if we don't!" Joining the enraptured JNPR behind their cover were the remnants of other teams, CFVY, RWBY, even CRDL as they fought their way tooth and nail to retreat.

"We can run, and maybe some of us will even get away, but what then? What will we be left with when everything we ever dreamed of is turned to ashes? We give up now, we might as well give up all hope of **ever** changing things- and that's worse than death!" _Crocea Mors_ shook in his grip which clenched past his body's capabilities. Searching, reaching for that which was just out of his grasp- but his grasp far exceeded his understanding. "A world where nothing ever changes, where the same stupid mistakes get repeated day after day- I don't want to live in a world like that. If I die here, so be it. But at least I won't be the same simpering fool I was when I started here. I'll have taken that first step and at least say that I've tried to do something."

Pius solemnity swept the students gathered there underneath the crumbling archway. The sounds of conflict dying away slowly as each looked deep within and found their heartbeat, a confluence of souls-

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Screaming, stomping her foot snapped her high-heel but Weiss couldn't be bothered to care. If no one else could remain dignified at the moment, why should she? "Are you mad? There's no end to them! Every single Grimm around Vale is either in the city right now or right-damn here! Our **only** option is to escape. The White Fang must have arrived in **something** , and there's still got to be some military transports around that we can take. _**I**_ for one have every intention of living through this, and the best way to do that is to start thinking like rational, levelheaded, _huntresses and huntsmen_ instead of some- some- lunatic!"

"What is wrong with you Weiss?!" Empathizing every bit with her fellow blond, Yang turned on her teammate for what she viewed as a betrayal of everything they had been through.

"What's wrong with _me_?" She scoffed. "I seem to be the only sane one in this entire city! You're the one with the sister who's off her rocker. And the way I see it, she seems to be contagious!"

If possible, the atmosphere only became deadlier as the others watched this argument with both worry and wariness, those lost souls dependent on whichever point came out victorious.

"You're lucky, Ruby would want me to forgive you for that." Weiss didn't flinch even as Yang stepped so close she could smell the last meal on her breath- the only time the smell of popcorn wasn't alluring. "But if you walk away now, **I** won't let that go. I don't care if you think fighting back is pointless because as a team that's what we decided to do. I'm not dumb and neither are you, both of us know the odds and either way they're not good. So, would it _kill_ you to believe in something extraordinary for once? If this is the end of it, what would it matter to hope for the impossible?"

"This isn't a fairy tale." Weiss shut her eyes in what was presumed to be anger. But Yang found herself a hypocrite as wet tears leaked out of that frosted shell. "There's no such thing as miracles, or magic, and no one _ever_ gets a happy ending! Why can't you understand that?! Why can't you just live in the real world like everyone else has to?! These things are impossible, **im-** _possible._ "

"Fine." Somber, resigned, Yang walked away from the inconsolable girl who could not let go of her reality- no matter how admittedly imperfect it was. Others parted to let her through until she reached their outskirts, paused to load a handful of shotshells she fished from her pockets without ever looking back. "You need to see it to believe, huh? Well, don't blink."

There was an earth-shattering cry as she charged back into the fray.

"LARIAT!"

She only made it a few steps out from the archway before the entire courtyard seemed to explode in front of her. A Paladin which had been lumbering its way closer to their shelter was swept off its feet and hurled into a platoon of AK-200's. Not stopping there, it tumbled until it rolled into a wall which came crashing down on top of a pack of Beowovles, a few scattered managing to avoid becoming Nora's favorite treat.

Catching up to the awestruck blonde, two of JNPR's members came up short as they were confronted with a ghost from their past. Previously blending in to the sheer tide of darkness that tried to sweep over them, the mounted Grimm now stood tall amongst the riffraff like a hellish flagbearer. Out of everyone slowly emerging from cover, the Nuckelavee seemed to have enflamed red eyes only for Ren and Nora as it too remembered unfinished business.

It raised it's one, dragging appendage menacingly, as if to mark them as its next victims.

-And was promptly beheaded. Its body fading into ash like it was never there.

Once again, the surviving students were left in silence wherein they all looked at one another, waiting for someone to say something and affirm this supernatural event. But once again, the only sound was each of their hearts, seemingly syncing up in a single, primal rhythm. It was enticing, it was invigorating, it was… a sick beat?

"~In truth, we never give up on the Philosopher's Stone." A shadow moved in the darkness, more glowing eyes vanished.

"~Anything you wanna do, don't gotta do it on your own." Atlesian Knights exploded one by one like fireworks.

"~For the love of you, for the love of me!" Something stood out from the flames, a hulking shade with multitudinous spikes sticking out from odd angles, each skewering another target. A ghastly sight even compared to everything else thus far, but the students were beyond fear by this point.

"~For the love of ev-ry-one, who's yet to be free!" Alighting in front of the jaw-dropping group, they realized there was no longer any reason to fear, no longer reason to question.

"~When life seems more than you can handle, Baby, I'll be your alchemy man. So when even doubter holds up the candle, we gonna rise again!"

Insanity really didn't seem so bad.

"Heh, how was that? Little tit-for-tat, you see where I'm at?" Dismounting off the hill of corpses he had assembled in just a scant few seconds, the imposing man with seven swords strapped to his massive body sauntered up to the dumbstruck huntsmen and huntresses with a disarming smile. "Ah, I see you're off your seats at my sick beats. But please be tell me, what'chu think 'bout the rhymes of Killer B?"

The confidence in his smile waned slightly as the gaggle of teens continued to stare silently at him. When one stirred he became hopeful, but that was quickly dismissed when the blonde turned to her peers.

"Okay, two questions: did anyone else see that?" Yang asked, receiving an eerie synchronicity of nods. "Great. Now, does anyone else understand a word this dude just said?" Heads shook back and forth. "Phew. Thanks for that, I thought for a second that I was the only one."

Meanwhile, B mumbled in his own contemplation. "Hmm… little carrier said something about a language barrier… wonder what B could do to give 'em a clue?"

"Um, excuse me?" Interrupting his thought process was the same blonde as before, a girl he felt he should know from his fellow Jinchῡriki's descriptions. "Uh, hi. Just wanna say thanks and all that for helping us out. I know we don't know each other and I really hate to ask you for this favor but, uh… you don't understand us either, do you?"

B shook his head as the look of confusion and deflation was a language he could understand. "Sorry yellow bird, B don't understand your words."

"Oh, for crying out loud!" While oddly reserved until then, of all things to lose her patients over Nora decided she couldn't stand all this ineptitude ruining the awesomeness.

"You! Big guy!" Pushing her way ahead of Yang, she pointed up at the man who was almost twice her height, but even then, slightly cowed by her attitude. "Me, Nora!" Jabbing a thumb towards herself. "Those fuckers!" Sweeping her hand across at the farraginous enemy who were also slowly regaining their wits. "Smash!" Punctuating the end of her communication by smacking the head of her hammer into her hand.

"Nora…" Death momentarily postponed, Ren returned to his parental role and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Talking louder doesn't mean he'll understand-"

"Su-ma-shu!" The young man was forced to eat his words as the powerful stranger grinned and mimicked his friend's gesture.

"Smash!" Nora confirmed.

"Smash!"

" **Smash, smash, smash, smash!** "

Combined, this mantra resounded throughout the courtyard as the two dichotomies moved side by side to face the resurgent tide. As they continued to observe, the onlookers swore they could see purple electricity dance between the two like a Tesla coil, moving from higher potential to lower. Not only that, but they felt the ionizing of the air and the hairs on their body stand on end as they all collectively took a step back.

"Heh, B is liking this little chick. Better not blink, 'cause this is gonna be quick, fool, ya fool!"

"Less talky, more smashy!" The diminutive girl growled as her eyes danced with unrestrained energy.

"Wakatta, wakatta."

"Oh, good lord, there's two of them."

But despite this disparaging remark, there was not a single face without a smile on it.

* * *

 _In the beginning there was the two of us. Body and Mind. Yin and Yang. Two functioning as one._

" _I do not understand you." This was the case no longer. "You have changed, brother. Never would I have expected you to be the one to pay another's toll."_

" _They changed me. Being connected to them…"_

" _Are you sure about that?"_

 _As sure as I could be of anything anymore, but that was still such tenuous ideology._

" _How long have you been here?" He asked, knowing that I did not have an answer._

" _An eternity." Give or take. "As you said, I sacrificed to bring the two of them together at long last."_

" _Then is it not strange that Gyῡki is not also here?"_

 _Was it? It was so much harder to notice an absence of something when there was nothing. Though even if he had been there, it would not surprise me if I did not notice that either._

" _What are you saying?"_

" _You said it yourself. You have always been here, brother. This space did not exist until you created it, spanned the distance as a bridge between worlds, transmitting feelings, sensations, experience…"_

" _-But never thought. That was always your domain."_

" _Finally admitting that I am the smarter one?" An expression long since forgotten, a grin. Something I could not mimic._

" _Tell me what I am supposed to know."_

" _I asked you to remember."_

" _Remember what?"_

" _That you saved me."_

* * *

"No one will save you, you know?" Bark without any bite, the snarling bitch clutched her side which had been cauterized over but kept bleeding within. "You won't win. Even if you best me, Lady Salem will be my vengeance as she returns to conquer-"

"Oh, shut up, would you?" His breath just as heavy after their intense first encounter, both of them with every intention of it being their last, one way or the other.

"Make me." Cinder shot childishly, crawling backwards on hands and knees towards a wall where she could lift herself up. Actions which mimicked his not long ago. "Or do you not think you're capable of doing that much?"

"Believe me, you have no idea what I'm capable of."

Squaring up, he cast aside that previous fatigue along with care for his slow-healing wounds. Putting on a brave face for both himself and the delusional woman.

Even knowing that he was every bit capable of making good on his promises, he was worried. Concerned for his partners, one of which should have been a voice in the back of his mind, egging him on or else staying his hand. With its distinct absence, there was a sense of disorientation, vertigo as he struggled to find the highroad at this impasse.

"Nor do you have any idea what those new 'allies' of yours are capable of. You must think that you can control them, but believe me, Akatsuki has no other intention than using you and then casting you aside."

"Your concern for my wellbeing is touching." With a sneer and a wince, Cinder attempted twice to raise herself to a knee before succeeding. "Is this the part where the hero tries to get the villain to reform?"

"Probably should be, yeah. Ruby would want me to give you a second chance." Naruto shrugged, watching her struggle impassively. "But I'm not the kind of hero you read about in story books. Right now, I'm trying to find my own reason to keep you alive."

"How-Thh!- bloody magnanimous of you."

Ignoring Cinder as she continued to stubbornly fight against her failing body, Naruto looked past her and spied the sole other occupant of the underground chamber after he sent Killer B on ahead. Amber's glass sarcophagus went miraculously untouched by their rampant destruction, and she rested there undisturbed by anything in the outside world. Any sympathy he found for the raven-haired woman was dwarfed by that which he knew for the Maiden he never met.

He sighed. "Don't go anywhere."

"Hardy-ah! Har…" Spitting through her teeth at his retreating form.

Fighting just to draw a breath which didn't press her lungs against her fractured ribs, Cinder resigned herself to simply gritting through the pain as she considered just where the unfathomably strong teenager went.

"Here."

She didn't have to wonder about his location for long, though now had to question his sanity as he stood within arm's reach of her with an air of nonchalance and a water bottle in one hand. Parched though she was from the copious amount of blood already lost, she attempted to quench her thirst by instead drinking in his eyes like a vast sea.

"Oh, whoops." With a casual twist of the wrist he undid the cap. "Sorry about that."

There was no deception or humor in this small act, though she struggled to find any other intent. Body accepting it before her mind did, she grabbed the bottle and drained it slowly, trying to maintain her dignity, but more than that trying not to choke.

"Good?" He asked with a small but crooked smile and she nodded as she lowered the plastic from her lips. "Good."

Her lips parted in a silent scream as her chest was mercilessly crushed against the unyielding glass, Naruto's foot on her back as his hand grabbed a wad of her blood-soaked hair, forcing her to look straight ahead.

"AAAGGHHRRRAA!"

Her cry came as a delayed response to the sudden and unexpected action, bringing with it a wad of blood which also escaped from her mouth and splattered against the transparent chamber. He ground her face in it as she attempted to turn around and bite his head off, not letting her look at anything but the quietly slumbering face beyond the glass.

"YOUFUCKINGBASTARD!"

With the air that was squeezed out of her she cursed every fiber of his being, wheezing through liquid welling in her chest and dredging up every foul descriptor her panicked mind could think of.

"Yeah, I'm not a hero, so I better be okay with being a bastard." Bringing up _Radiant Thorn_ with his other hand, he leveled it on the woman's neck. "My debt's repaid, though."

"Executing a woman in cold blood?! What would that girl think-?"

There was silence as the blow came, even as Cinder's jaw continued to flap slowly while he held her head aloft by the hair.

"It's a good thing she isn't here."

Regarding her face now permanently etched in a fit of rage, he let her body slide lifelessly off to the side. From both halves emerged an ectoplasmic finger which became a worm that then crawled its way towards the machine. Helixing up on either side of the chamber, the living energy slithered in through the tiny gaps in the top to return to their rightful host.

Only when Amber started breathing again did he allow himself to, relaxing and letting the head drop and roll off to be lost somewhere.

"I'm sorry." He apologized, not to the fresh corpse or the former victim but the weapon still held in his hand. Remiss at the foul blood staining it. "I'm sorry I'm not as strong as you."

Gazing up from his own personal Hell to the hole in the roof left by Killer B in his enthusiastic exit. Up above, clouds parted to let a stream of moonlight illuminate the cave, caressing his face etched with contrition.

"Forgive me Ruby, but I still need you."

* * *

"I must admit, you're certainly a strange one."

Stance one of dignity and fortitude, his rumpled clothing and the bead of sweat trickling down his brow spoke instead of the intense combat he had just endured. Not to mention the honest fear he had of this monster who had yet to receive a scratch.

"One might say that… **about yourself**."

"You got me there." Forcing a chuckle, Ozpin conceded this point. "I am curious, though. Where did She dig you up from? What promises did she make to get you to fight for her?" What might have been a smile appeared on the creature's face. Though even if it were, it would not necessarily be a good sign. "I suppose that she never has really cared for humans- of course, forgive me if I assume you don't self-identify as such."

Apart from the mop of green hair on its head, four limbs and that toothy smile, there was nothing humanoid about this thing. Once again feeling as if he were grasping at straws, the headmaster wondered if he would even understand any answer it would give.

"We are happy to entertain your questions… **it is a painless way of keeping you stalled**."

Momentarily dropping his carefully schooled demeanor, the ancient being cursed underneath his breath before he reset.

"Oh? Is Salem becoming lenient in her old age? One would think that she would be only too eager to be rid of me."

"We don't care… **about what that bitch wants.** What we have is a… **mutually beneficial arrangement.** "

"I see," Ozpin lied, this situation becoming more and more abstract. "So then you intend to take the Maiden's powers for yourself, then?"

Relying on what would be a human's physical queues, what the plant-being displayed now was akin to curiosity or perhaps amusement. The dividing line between the two being black and white, straight down the middle.

" **We have no use for your fractured souls** **…** Does he not understand that we're not from here?"

Two different personalities discoursed in front of him, lost momentarily in their own conversation and Ozpin had to resist the urge to attack while they were distracted. It had already proven to be far too aware of its surroundings for such a simple trick to succeed. That, and he found himself increasingly anxious for it to speak again, the hints it had dropped ringing alarm bells deep within his mind.

As much as he wanted to hear its tale, its task had been to delay him, and he therefore could not afford to entertain his curiosity.

"Then what is it she provides you? What do you get out of occupying me?" With his mask having slipped once already, it became all too easy for the façade to fall again to his mounting anxiety. "If your goal is to deliver the Relic, you probably already know where it is and that I am incapable of stopping you from taking it. But if you have no grievance with me, then let me go and protect my students!"

"We're really sorry… **but we can't let you do that.** "

Gripping his cane until the precision clockwork within skipped and whined under the strain, Ozpin contemplated if his old body had enough strength to at least take down this adversary with it. If it meant to keep him from helping his students, it was a harm to them and something he could not let live.

"And why not?" Graphite to diamond, his once soft eyes hardened behind the chipped lenses. "What is it that you want? Let me pass and I will do everything in my power to provide it."

It laughed- or at least the black half did. A cruel, mocking sound that was like grinding salt into the numerous shallow wounds incised into his suit which had seen better days. The white half staying expressionless, though with a twinge of pity that was even worse.

"We want that boy… **and the girl!** He has something we need… **and she is the key to his heart.** "

"Ah…"

Ozpin said simply, as if that explained everything. In truth, nothing in his centuries of amalgamated experiences had prepared him to wrap his head around the insanity of this situation, the way it devolved so far so fast. Honestly, he wanted to deny that he knew what this creature was talking about- forget the fact that it was even there. Just walking away might be the most reasonable course of action. No matter how precious Ruby was, there was no comparing her life to all of theirs.

"Well then," Sighing, he took a last, deep breath to soak up all the familiar smells of the Emerald Forest which even now burned acre by acre, to collect himself, his thoughts and his determination. "It seems like I've run out of time, huh?"

With an explosion of chaotic action, he drew the sword from his cane and charged straight into the gaping maw.

* * *

" _Did you think this was Hell?" Already knowing, my other half asked rhetorically. "Or perhaps the belly of the beast?" Referring to his own fate at the hands of Minato Namikaze._

" _Why are you not in the Shinigami's stomach, then?"_

" _I told you. You saved me. Rescued me from that fate, and by extension created this world and this bond. Heretofore, you always had one toe in the other world while the rest resided with that boy. Stretching you thin across the divide. Your conscious is only here now because you tried to do it again, pushing yourself that much further over the edge."_

" _And what of you?" My voice feeling as if it would disappear again, comprehending the truth that I perhaps always had known. "Why are you here?"_

" _Simple." Words to sooth my soul. "I'm here to return the favor."_


	36. Purgatorio (1)

**So… I'm late. I had this "done" for the past several days actually, but have been tweaking it nonstop since then. It was pushing 15k words, but I finally decided to split it up into two parts like the last time. Only this time, I'll just give you the part that everyone has been waiting for.**

 **Not going to lie, this week in general has been tough for me. Going back to school, while not bad, just compounds things. And I just wanted to give you guys the absolute best product that I could since this is it. I just could not fathom any way to improve it unless I tore the last several chapters down and started from scratch… which I might still do, pending what you all think.**

 **I realize that some of you were obviously confused by the exchange between Yin and Yang Kurama (And yes, that's who's talking. Which brings up the question: which one has been the narrator? Notice now that neither is there, currently). That's okay. It's supposed to be a little confusing, and will probably get a LOT more confusing by next chapter. I want questions to remain just as it does for our characters.**

 **All art is a reflection of life, and you, my readers, are my greatest work. Thanks for everything (so far!).**

* * *

"Just say it already."

Waging a casual conversation as they carried on genocide with their blades.

"Say what?"

With exasperation more than concern, she rolled her eyes and turned on her heel, letting loose a blizzard against the surge of assorted Grimm. First ranks froze in the waist-high berm but were instantly surpassed by the never-ending flood of hatred which uncaringly scrambled over their brethren.

"You know what I mean. Let's just get it over with."

Dashing in front of his reluctant partner, he swept across the length of her construct with his own salvo of fire-Dust which erupted as soon as they came into contact. The quick freeze and subsequent expansion sent frozen shrapnel every which way, cutting Grimm down like a lawnmower but also hurtling towards the two of them. Standing straight to face the woman, he moved his great sword along the length of his back to deflect the icy splinters to either side.

"I admit," Standing close with his roughhewn form nearly pressed up against her, his voice came breathy and hot from the recent exertion. "I have loved you unconditionally from afar. Since first you graced me with your munificent blade and slew me with your unforgiving beauty-"

"-I don't believe this! You're even more insufferable than when you're drunk!" Winter screamed disbelief, even though she was currently close enough to confirm the lack of any alcohol on his breath.

"Well then," Wisely distancing himself from the irritated woman, Qrow chose the drastically less menacing Alpha Ursa lumbering towards them, so large its back was scraping the arching transept and the ground shook as it ambled. "I really am at a loss as to what you want out of me."

Twirling his blade once, when it came around it was in a similar shape to the weapon his niece used to tote around on a daily basis. He leaned back casually, avoiding the brutish beast's claws at it swiped at him. Disarming easily and literally, he smirked in the face of its enraged cry as Winter leapt over him to finish the beast in a single well-placed blow.

"Quit messing around." Shrugging off her glare, they both turned around to see a squad of Atlesian Knights armed with reinforced riot shields forming a phalanx in the hallway. "Just say it already."

"What?" More growl than playfulness in his question, he and his ally charged straight at the enemy lines, one going high the other low. "I really have no idea what you're talking about."

Qrow's scythe snuck underneath the ballistic plexiglass wall, toppling the preprogrammed soldiers just in time for them to let loose a salvo which impacted uselessly against the ceiling. As they fell though, additional machines were revealed moving in to take up ranks. They barely had time to get a bead on the grizzled huntsman before a white shadow descended and cut them down like raw recruits.

"Ugh! You are so petty." Shaking her head disappointedly, Winter crossed her arms and glowered at the huntsman. "Hurry up and say: 'I told you so', already."

"Really? That's what you think?" It was Qrow's turn to roll his eyes, and as he turned away to disguise this action he kicked an android's severed head like a can. "And **I'm** the petty one…" He mumbled to himself.

His whisper, however, could be heard clearly echoing in the empty room. Already at wit's end, Winter turned on her heel and marched straight to him, stepping over the dismembered remains of the windup soldiers once under her command.

Before she could reach him though, the entryway burst open in an orange ball of flame and hailstorm of razor-sharp debris. The hand stretching out to accost him instead latched onto his shoulder, then threw both flat against the stone floor.

Now thoroughly deaf from the concussive blast, they lifted their heads up cautiously to see just what had interrupted their 'friendly' argument this time.

In the gaping maw which used to be Beacon's front entrance stood no less than five Paladin Anti-Armor Mechs, crowded shoulder to shoulder but rapidly filing in to occupy the grand hallway. Forcing Winter once again to suffer under the humiliation of irony.

"Now?" All but begging.

"Nope." Everything but teasing.

Without pausing to grumble, Winter leapt to her feet and instantly used her Semblance to summon a champion in her stead. Appropriately enough, another Paladin trudged its way out of the glyph, stepping carefully over its mistress.

"Uh, I think you might have miscounted." Qrow received a stink eye in return for his observation

"Not another peep out of you until you say it."

While Qrow threw his hands up in surrender, Winter threw hers up as if commanding a great performance, Paladins of both allegiances arming their weapons.

The chaos confined in that space lasted all of about twenty seconds but felt as long as the entire night thus far. High-energy lasers ripped through stone and metal, echoing shrieks throughout the entire school. A temporary masterpiece was painted with vibrant blues and greens, angry reds tearing it all up again in a single moment of fury.

Somewhere in the midst of all the dizzying crossfire Winter's summon succumbed to the fusillade. But even as its swiss-cheese form faded away, the other automata never paused in their unrelenting assault.

The shooting did peter out after a while, and only when it had, did its summoner realize that she had been forcibly torn from the line of fire and hidden behind a barely-standing pillar, the spot she once occupied a charred and smoking crater.

"Why do you have to be so damned childish?"

Not bothering to remove her hand from the one that dragged her to safety, she sighed wearily as the three remaining mechs turned their guns on them.

"I was wrong, and I just don't want you to be able to lord that over me."

Looking down at her with his oddly sober gaze she felt every bit her foolishness.

"Do you really want those to be the last words you hear?"

Only smirking in response.

"Kinda."

Shame though it was, considering they had just reached a point of understanding. They looked at one another as the guns hummed a crescendo, unearthly glow at the end of that tunnel.

"Nah."

As one they turned, brandishing their respective weapons and charged.

Over their shoulders whizzed three daggers which flew down the barrels of the charging cannons. Once again, the huntsman and huntress found themselves thrown to the ground from a confined detonation which rocked the school's footing.

"What now?"

One adversary after another popping up, keeping them from making their way to the underground chamber where the Fall Maiden lay dangerously asleep. With all the abuse they had suffered in the past hours, Qrow wondered if the ringing in his ears would become permanent tinnitus and planned to sue whomever he could for the damages.

Also, wondering if his brain wasn't damaged as well. For even though he was dry as a desert, looking through the chalky clouds of dust was a sight he couldn't have dreamed of in the deepest drunken haze. Ruby with her scythe poised above one of the felled Paladins, its hydraulics moaning, begging for it to be spared.

The blow was both graceful and merciless. Executed perfectly, the grizzled old huntsman would know that technique anywhere.

"Who the heck are you?" Winter asked for him, his mouth refusing to cooperate. "And what are you doing here? All students should be evacuating!"

It was a stupid thing to say, as they both knew that every last one was fighting for their lives. Looking as if he knew this too, the newcomer spared Winter a passing glance before turning to Qrow.

"Where is she?"

"I-I don't know." Surprised only that he answered, not that he knew whom the blond was asking about. "The students were taking care of civilian evac when we separated. The General supported our retreat from the stadium and ordered Winter to help secure the underground chamber. I tagged along, thinking they were going to escape to Vale."

"Did they?" Qrow shook his head woefully.

"Neither group made it. Vale's already been overrun. The militia's been called up, but it's slow because someone took down the communications. Meanwhile, we've been having a hell of a hard time trying to get underground." Nervous for some unfathomable reason under that baleful stare, he fidgeted and looked away. "I'm- I'm sorry."

Winter's face was priceless, and any other time he would have loved to snap a pic for later blackmail. But he was too much expectant for the strike which would take off his head to even move- a blow which never came.

"Don't worry about it."

"But- the Maiden-!"

"Don't worry." He repeated, addressing Winter this time. "I've taken care of it."

"What do you mean you've-?" A hand gesture cut her off.

In another time and another place, Qrow never would have silenced the ferocious woman so disrespectfully for fear of life and limb. But the expression he wore declared resolutely that these were extenuating circumstance.

"If I know my nieces, Yang's not going anywhere without her sis. So she's around, without a doubt." Unvoiced suspicions about who this young man was were confirmed the moment their eyes met, and the crow soared high on foreign horizons. "Find Yang, and you'll find Ruby."

"Got it."

In a flash he was gone, leaving only the perfect destruction to let the two know he'd ever been there.

"Hey, Winter?"

"W-what?"

Smirking, Qrow continued to look out through the gaping hole and into the open night.

"I told you so."

* * *

"I told you from the beginning." Again with the disappointment, a most grating tone from someone she could honestly confess she hated. "You knew it, too. I could see it in your eyes- your every action was committed knowing that it could be your last. Yet you fought on anyway. As a human you are predictable."

It was a first time for her- not that impotent feeling of helplessness, but the crackling, churning of fiery rage deep within that threatened to burn its way out of her chest. There was no outlet for it though, as she lay face-down in a soiled puddle unable to move. Boxing in that anger was a fat layer of numbness, her body nothing but a useless vessel for her unrestrainable will. Much like Penny who hung there inert at the end of his blade, a lifeless doll with her strings cut.

"Still, I must admit that I am a tad surprised." Inspecting the cold husk with infuriating detachment, the man called Tobi brought the android close until he could look into her ridged face as her neck hung limply. "For having just met, you two worked in concert rather well. I'd still like to know if it was you or the machine who realized the weaknesses of the Sharingan in this universe. No matter now, eh?"

Lowering his sword, he allowed Penny's limbless body to slide off his blade and roll across the ground. Coming to a rest, her hollow green eyes stared up at the cloudy night sky which lent her its tears. Crying seemed to be all Ruby could do at that point, but she wasn't about to shed any for herself, even as Tobi calmly approached her prone form.

"It is something to note, however. Whereas the Elemental Nations have the Five Great Shinobi Villages, numerous minor ones and those to the east, this world only has the Four Kingdoms. Weaker beings working together more cohesively, perhaps? Forced to rely on one another for survival. It furthers my own theory that the greater strength possessed by individuals, the more freedom of choice, and the more likely they are to assert their will on others. Hence, a world of peace is one in which no one has any choices and the only will is that of the entire population, working towards sustaining one, singular goal: the continuation of life."

Her weapon lay not far from her hand, and if she could but muster enough strength to twitch towards it, she might lash out and strike him as he came to crouch over her. That one, condescending red eye nailed her to the ground at the same time it prickled her to action.

"Having seen this world, now I wonder: Could you imagine a universe where no human possessed extra powers beyond their hands and minds? How close to perfection must a place like that be? Millions of weaklings like ants all toiling together in harmony, afraid to step out of line because everyone is just as powerful as the next. Why, I bet a place like that could even reach the stars if they so desired."

Relaxed in his monologuing, Tobi tilted his mask towards the sky. But all that he could see even with the Mangekyō Sharingan was a curtain of gray.

"Hm? What was that?" Heedlessly he leaned an ear towards the girl with her mouth towards the ground.

"…I said," she mumbled, trying not to bite her own tongue. "That you're full of crap." Somehow, she managed to maneuver her chin so that she could glare up at the man with eyes like liquid mercury. "First off, people aren't like that. There's going to be mean and nice people no matter how powerful they are. Secondly, speculating about that kind of thing is pointless because we're talking about your world and mine. And third, **you're** the one enforcing his will on others, so nothing you say actually means anything!"

Resting after the painful but necessary exertion, Ruby allowed her head to drop again as she waited for his reply. It felt like a lifetime while she could feel his scrutinizing gaze on the back of her head, and she tried to drown out the sensation with the pitter-patter of rain slowly fading away as the dawn drew closer and closer.

Sopping shoulders shrugged.

"Heh, heh! You might be right." He stooped again to pat her soaked head, and more than ever she wished she could move but an inch to bite off his wrist- futile though it was. "However, just because I'm a hypocrite doesn't mean I'm wrong. In fact, it's because I have this power and have been given this opportunity that I **must** see things right. Believe it or not, I was like you once."

"You were never like me!"

So surprised was he by the outburst that he couldn't react when the blunt tip slammed straight into his mask. More than just sending him stumbling back, it actually succeeded in inciting a mean crack like frozen lightning to spread across its surface. And, if the trickle of blood leaking out were any indication, managed to strike a profound blow.

"I'm **tired** of everyone thinking they know me." On unsteady legs she stood- but standing she was, arms limp but grip tight on that bludgeon. "Tired of being told what I am, like they can just read me like a chart. Humans aren't that simple!" The next step was no sturdier than the first, but at least it was in the right direction.

"Somebody programmed Penny, I know." Shaded by somber tresses, she glanced at her fallen comrade. "-But I doubt even they knew how she'd turn out. What she'd do with the life they gave her." Life now pitilessly extinguished, earthly remnants all that were left. "Whoever they were, they wanted it that way. Someone out there loved her and created her from that love. I know because I loved her too, even if I just met her."

Having recovered, Tobi stood and watched the girl curiously, uncaring for the chips gradually falling away from his façade.

"That's what love is, ya know?" Desperately she smiled, wearily after having done it far too much and still far too little. "It's unpredictable."

Much like the strike at his head which he ducked under, millennia of evolution forcing that action rather than his other abilities. But what sort of logic and chemistry defined this girl who stood up again and again after being finished?

"And everyone out there who's alive is filled with it. Trying to make it rational or put it into words is useless- no script or story can contain what it is!"

Uncontained, unrestrained she accelerated at Tobi who was ready this time with annoyance and sword held in defense.

"If you were ever human," While letting the blow pass through him, he readied his counter raising his arm high overhead. "-You've forgotten that!"

Tobi's strike was disregarded just the same as it passed straight through the crimson steak. Behind the mask his eye widened as a second Ruby appeared in the wake of the first, lashing out and shattering his wrist. Ignoring the afterimage, he shot his other hand out to try and grab the speedy girl only to be foiled yet again.

"Enough!"

Erupting with this word along with a wooden lattice that sprouted up around him, Tobi took a deep breath to curtail his rising anger now that he was temporarily protected by that annoying gnat.

"It's never enough!"

Having to evacuate his own hidey-hole when it turned to pulp in front of him, even the chakra-reinforced wood shattering like a castle of sand. In fact, the chakra imbued in the technique seemed to respond to whatever stimulus Ruby gave it, a chain reaction forcing him to retreat into the stage before he was pulverized.

Intangible though he was, he was not immune to shock as the ground opened up around him as the twiggy girl unloaded a full compliment of Dust-rounds at him. The chase not ending there, solid objects fell away as easily as the motes of sleep underneath her hammering blows, never giving him a chance to retaliate.

"You know, I really ought to just kill you."

Passing through her, he spun on his heel and unleashed several elemental attacks in succession, emulating the technological feats of the coliseum as he reshaped the landscape. When he finished, all that remained was a newborn planet still going through an identity crisis.

"Then do it." Walking out from behind an icy mound that was partially melted from a lava flow. "Because it'll never get easier. I'm always going to be myself, but every minute, every second of life I'm gonna get stronger." The glow from molten rock lit up her marred face and highlighted the knowing smirk. "By being the girl who trusts people too easily and gets hurt because of it, the one who rushes headlong into things because I know it'll come out alright in the end. Not to mention, the person who's going to keep getting up time and again to defy idiots like you who just want to see a dream or nightmare and never the world for what it is."

"Hmm… y'know, I don't think I will." Something else had survived the tectonic shift of the field, and Tobi revealed it now, holding it up like a rag-doll from the scruff of a shredded dress. "Instead I'm going to take everyone else from around you one by one until you wish you were dead. Until you see that the only kind of peaceful world is one of fantasy, of dreams. My dream."

Once again, he examined Penny's remains closely. In the time only for a passing thought, Ruby though she looked over to see a spark behind those glassy green eyes. Even if she had only imagined it, there was no making up the flicker of life felt by all.

"Do robots dream? Assuming of course that there is anything left alive in there, I wonder what she is thinking about? Probably about how dark and lonely it is. Or maybe just at what point death will come. I suppose it depends on how long her batteries last… or how nice I feel."

Ruby resisted the urge to shout something trite like 'let her go!', knowing that kind of banter was worse than useless. Instead, she settled for the far greater possibility of striking him down with her venomous gaze.

"When you die, can it even be considered death?" Two hollow shells face to face, almost touching, orange and porcelain. "Where will that supposed soul of yours go? If you should get there and see Rin… what a silly thought. Machines can no more go to heaven than cats or dogs."

"This dog will!"

The mechanical torso was ripped form his grip before he could avoid the furry projectile that had been rocketed his way. Without the Chakra normally associated with humans and even ninken, Tobi had failed to notice the beast before it had already snatched up his prize in its amazingly strong jaws and rebounded to its master.

"Good fetch, Zwei."

With oblivious joy only a dog can convey, the tiny little corgi deposited what remained of the android at his master's feet and eagerly awaited his next assignment. The blond huntsman, however, looked not at his faithful hound or even the obvious antagonist, but at a face he remorsefully admitted he hardly recognized anymore.

"Hey, Ruby."

There was never any chance of forgetting though. For either of them, the identity was less a face twisted in guilt, and more a mixed bag of memories both good and ill.

"Dad…" The biggest surprise of all was how much she longed to see him, and hadn't realized it until she did. "What are you doing here?"

"What, a father can't come to see his daughters once in a while?" Morose, and with bitter irony he uttered the line which had existed only in his fantasies. "I… wanted to see you. I was evacuating with everyone else when I ran into Ironwood. He let slip that you weren't with the others, and so I stayed to look for you."

Trying to keep up that smile on his face only made it more tragic, at home with his haggard and slovenly looks which probably didn't benefit from fighting his way through the stadium. With no one at home, he had stopped trying to keep his stubble at bay and let it grow into a bushy, unkempt beard which obviously hadn't been washed in days like the rest of him. Wrinkled, baggy clothes effortlessly applied and hiding a hint of a paunch on his once flat stomach. It would have been nice to compare his outwards appearance to her internal struggles the past several years, if not for the fact that she was sure underneath this surface was a sight far worse.

"But…" Not now. Oh, how she longed for this moment but never planned for it in her wildest dreams. Such was life, never doing quite what we expect.

"I'm sorry it took me so long." At his feet, Zwei cocked his head at the clenched and shaking fist. "Those White Fang guys… no. It was me all along. I was never strong enough to face you…"

"Dad!"

"How touching." Sleepless eyes widened as the voice crawled over his shoulder, and the loyal guard dog was frustrated snapping at the heels of a ghost. "Not to mention convenient. For me."

But death wasn't to toll for Taiyang that day- not yet at least. The ringing as metal met metal was the sound of his salvation.

"I'm amazed…" Taiyang was amazed too, that he could have dropped his guard so easily, that such speed existed. "… One would have thought that you resented him for what he has done."

Not just the speed with which the orange-masked man moved behind him, but how quickly she came to his defense.

"Who knows… maybe I do?" Like flying across the arena to catch the sword before it could do its damage, she hadn't really thought about it. "I guess I still love him, and that's why it hurts." Even with the enemy's weapon caught in the hooked rod of the revolving chamber, she was struggling against the blow that was meant to kill. Had Tobi been holding back against her the entire time? "But…" Looking back was risky, but a chance she had to take. "...he's still my dad, ya know?"

"Not very wise admitting that."

Tai bit his tongue when the foot kicked him in the chest. With so little Aura there, it hurt- but far less, he was sure, than what 'Tobi' would have done should his daughter not have knocked him back in time.

"Go, Dad!" Shouting back over her shoulder while she kept the masked man at bay now with both hands, Tobi cocked his head in a parody of amazement.

"How is this possible?"

The blonde huntsman found himself improbably agreeing with the villain in this circumstance, everything that had happened since seeing his daughter again had been the same kind of insanity as before. The kind that he just had no idea how to deal with. He felt lost and helpless all over again.

"Quit sitting there, grab Penny and go!"

If her father could only know that she was just as blind as he was, doing whatever came naturally like taking one breath after the next. Catching Tobi's wrist had been the idea, but not part of the plan, she never expected it to succeed. There was never a part two, and just another choice to make.

"No! I-I can't just leave you with this-this-!" Making his own decision at last and standing up. A choice made with his heart, but the wrong one. "I can't, not again!"

"That's why you're the only one who can!"

The shock of having the girl grab him through his phasing ability lasted only long enough for Tobi to realize that he could just break her grip with strength. With a simple twist of his wrist so the sword broke free from the kabutowari's stranglehold, he aimed a strike that would scalp the girl if she hadn't ducked underneath it. The foot he was about to lash out with was batted off to the side with the handle of the weapon before she shot out one of her own. Blocking with his knee, bringing his raised blade back down only to have it parried again- a jarring blow that met his own with all the weight carried behind that solid weapon.

"Please! If you still love me..."

Her opponent more jarred than herself, Ruby aimed a kick at the man's supporting leg which predictably passed right through and dangerously exposed her side to the man. Being socked in the jaw was preferable to the razor edge which passed within a hairsbreadth of her spine, but it still stung viciously and sent her staggering on her back foot, not to mention left her susceptible to the following lunge aimed to pierce her kidney. Not thinking, just doing, grabbing the plunging blade with her bare hand and yanking the man into her strike.

"Take Penny and go!"

It was true, he could no longer recognize this girl- no, huntress fighting for her life in front of him. Just as he was sure that he wouldn't recognize the shaggy, wretched man in the mirror. In the time spent apart he had grown weaker, and her stronger than he could have ever imagined- then he or his late wife ever could have dreamed of. He would have said that she looked like her mother, save for that she really didn't.

"You've really grown." He whispered, wiping the last tear from his eye.

She had blossomed into her own person that he would never be able to reconcile with the bite-sized image of his baby girl. To ignore her request would to be to disrespect that growth, mistakenly cling to that false idol until it dragged him down to the bottom- of the gutter, of the bottle, of the sea.

But could he do it? It would be painful, to walk away again after so long building up that courage. It would remind him how useless and pathetic he really was- a problem if he weren't so immured to that concept already.

"Take care of the dolly, Zwei." Unfettered bark in confirmation, Tai readied the package he had been prepared to deliver when first finding his daughter. "Daddy's got one more thing to do."

Exerting his body more than he had in years, the father of Ruby and Yang dashed towards where the duel had migrated, blasting away at a lackadaisical Tobi who didn't even try to dodge his shots. Skidding to a halt in front of his daughter he endured her admonishment.

"What are you doing?!" Enjoying the flash of concern across her face, he smiled. Another first in a long time.

"Your friend'll be fine. It's _this_ dog that's got to earn his ticket back into heaven."

"You can't fight him!" Facing the man- the monster who was lazily looking their way, totally unencumbered by these distractions which simply delayed the inevitable.

"Did that stop you?" Even bruised and bloody, the sight of his daughter biting her lips in worry brought back fond memories. Also, pain, of reminding him what he had missed. Compared to that, agony of death was nothing.

"I'm sorry dad." So delicate, so painful, the hand she placed on his shoulder, still so tiny enveloped by his own.

"What're you sorry for?" He tried giving a gentle squeeze which came out anxious, reminding him that this might be the last time. "You're the one who has to put up with her selfish old man."

"For this." Leaving his soul behind as he was accelerated out of the arena, launched by a careful application of her semblance up and over the walls. His ballistic trajectory was tracked by the merry pup, dragging his new favorite toy as his short legs bounded to catch up.

"Don't worry about me, dad…." Nostalgically watching as he flew like a shooting star, she had every confidence her father would be fine. She only asked the same of him.

"…Backup's already on the way."

* * *

"I still don't believe it."

"I think we've established that it doesn't matter if you do or not." With a victorious smile, Yang placed a heavy hand on Weiss's shoulder as the girl who'd long since slipped off wit's end continued to stand and watch as the newcomer and their resident lightning-rod decimated the enemy forces tirelessly. "It's happening."

"I just feel-" She shook her head, not entirely sure what she was. Upset, happy, guilty, tired. "-so confused."

"I just feel useless." Jaune confided, prompting a glance from the white-haired girl he had long since forgotten about. "At least Nora's _doing_ something." Mainly giggling like a loon as she knocked Grimm into the air for the dark-skinned man's amusement.

"If you ask me, that guy's the real monster." The others milling about listlessly agreed with these opinions. "It doesn't even look like he's getting tired!"

It was plain to see that the newcomer was doing all the heavy lifting, which made their idleness both easier and more difficult. Practically toying with the Grimm, he was dutifully indulging the younger girl and even feeding her addiction with his apparently limitless reserves. Jaune had even noted that during an occasional lull, the bigger man would try to instruct the student in her technique by miming the movements.

"See? That's just why this just feels so surreal." When Weiss looked around the battlefield suspiciously, this time she had others doing it with her. "An endless enemy and tireless ally? It's like something's just keeping us occupied. Away from the real fight."

"Actually," Seldom though they were, Ren's words never failed to draw attention and, in this case, preempted another argument between the two teammates. "I think she may be on to something."

Clarifying for those staring at him in disbelief, Ren pointed to the sky and then to the forest. "As you can see, the hordes, though they seem limitless, are concentrated around certain points."

Unnoticed when fighting for their lives, now the gaggle of students squinted into the imperceptibly lightening darkness to see that their comrade was correct, and that two concentrations like whirlpools stood out among the chaos. One in a remote location of the Emerald Forest, and the other drawing the airborne Grimm to the still-floating Amity coliseum. In fact, the Grimm stacked shoulder to shoulder were practically ignoring them in favor of these epicenters of darkness.

"What do you think's there?"

"I don't know." Yang declared, staring at the whirlwind of blackness around the flying arena. "But I intend to find out."

"We should probably head to the forest." Pyrrha pointed out, keen to further this initiative before it petered out in favor of staying safe. "It's closer, and we don't have any aerial transport."

"Then let's find some." Regaining some of that ruddy tinge to her eyes, Yang attracted the investigations of a few weakling Grimm. "Whatever else is with her, Ruby's up there."

"Regardless, we have to get past those guys first." Seeing an opportunity to alleviate his own problem, Jaune joined the growing conspiracy and pointed a finger at the ring of blackness still surrounding them.

"Shouldn't we ask those two for a hand?" Heads turned to the lightshow behind them, some nodding and others dismissing the idea.

"I doubt we could make them understand if we wanted to." Jaune shook his head as a deranged cackle from the being that was once Nora rang out over the courtyard. "Besides, this is our fight. Our friend is still out there."

"Yeah, and we're bone dry on ammo." Chiming in, the second-year student hoped to imbue some sense on her juniors.

"Then fight with everything you have left!" Eyes widening behind her glasses, Coco did not expect to be snapped at. "Tooth and nail, we're huntsmen and huntresses. Not some fair-weather fighters."

"Hmph. Not with _these_ nails." This said, upon inspecting her digits, the stylish woman issued a sound of annoyance and stood up with her allies anyway.

"So, what's the plan, O-fearless leader?"

Never questioning the sarcasm, never doubting his own purpose in mounting a counterattack, Jaune began to think. Scanning the battlefield just coming out of the darkest hour, he came up with a plan.

"Pyrrha, do you think you could move a barricade around us if we give you the metal?"

"Possibly…" Surveying the faces of all those eager to join this foolish endeavor she came to a realization. "That would be a lot of metal. I'd have to drag it to keep it together, and even then…"

The ground was muddy and pockmarked from the various attacks and explosions throughout the battle, making for a treacherous trudge.

"What if it slid on ice?" Expecting the incredulous looks, Weiss was able to meet them with her prepared prudishness and a huff. "I can do it if you can."

This, she understood, was not an acceptable answer. Especially not enough to alleviate the accusatory stare of her teammate.

"I'm not just joining the winning side, it's just that… you were right." Uncrossing her arms, she sighed and bowed her head to her teammate. "Maybe you were always right. At least, about being able to believe in _something._ When I can't seem to trust in our teachers, can't trust in my family, can't even trust in my own abilities… maybe I'm finally ready to trust in something more than myself."

Did those now looking at her with acceptance truly understand her plight? Probably not, and neither would she understand what led them to this point in time. That was alright, though. And that was the only thing to understand.

"Okay." Either blonde agreed- which didn't matter as they began functioning as single unit. "Gather up every pinch of Dust we have left and give it to Weiss. You girls prep yourselves, the rest of us are going to dismantle one of these scrapheaps and drag it over here."

In what seemed like a blink of an eye in comparison to waiting around, the motley group manhandled one of the chopped-up Paladins left in the wake of the two lightning-user's destruction.

"You ready Pyrrha?"

For her part, the former champion was more than ready, eager to feel like she was contributing after so long. Being marginalized was novel at first, invigorating being out of the limelight for once in her life and free of the obligations associated with it. Eventually she came to realize the other extreme was the same, either one denying her choice while decisions were made in the background- actually, it was her who was in the background, a minor character bound by the context of the play acted out around her.

"Yes."

Ready to write her own part, if not as a Maiden, she would become something more. That ideal of strength that her crush lusted after.

Raising her arms, solidifying the stacked diamond around them in a screech of metal that was music to her ears. Ankle-height at first, she closed her eyes trying to lift that second layer into place. In doing so she could feel the presence of her comrades backing in all around her, a human wall inside the metal one, protecting her while she protected them.

"Alright. Weiss?" A solemn nod felt from another player logging in at last. "Then let's-"

Their tower of Babel was never to be a part of that overarching story. A storm kicked up at that moment, a god's fury blew against them and tried to sweep them off the drawing board.

"Hang on!"

She did, changing from trying to restrain the superstructure together to trying to restrain themselves, latching on to whatever metal was on their bodies with her Semblance and binding them tight to the ground.

An odd storm, the torrential gust abruptly stopped. Collectively they rubbed the dust out of their eyes and looked up to the vengeful heavens.

"No way…"

There was always a way, and if the sight of all the Grimm in the area tossed up into the sky was incredible to anyone, they hadn't been paying attention.

Not just the naturally airborne creatures, but the stocky Boarbatusks and hefty Ursae could be found aloft, swimming, falling in a sky that was every bit as dark as they.

Then came the lightning.

A series of flashes which never reached the ground but lit up the night and forced them to look away from the scene and cover their eyes.

And it was good that they did, for closing off this odd weather pattern was a fierce and heavy rain which sublimated as soon as it touched a solid surface.

"Black?" Finding her hand out in front of her, the Amazon looked with incredulity at the drenched but barren landscape before discovery hit. "All the Grimm…" All that was solid dissolving into thin air, and then from out of thin air-

"Someone's coming."

Still miraculously acting as one cohesive unit, what remained of Beacon's best and brightest leapt into formation at the call, focused on that _someone_ coming out of the midnight rain.

In their alertness no one noticed that _other_ someone, the yet-unnamed person who had saved their bacon initially, move up silently behind with an overdosed Nora draped over his shoulder and smirk on his lips.

"Show off…"

Fat drops drowned out their heavy breaths, the sound of footsteps- if there were even any to begin with, for each student noticed that the figure almost seemed to glide over the scarred terrane. Black as the night, as Grimm, as a specter of death, they were a shadow among shadows only known by a velvety ripple in that suffocating curtain.

"It's stopped raining."

Few noticed this meek comment from the rabbit Faunus, and fewer still recognized that the perpetual melancholy which had persisted since the start of the final match had finally alleviated. Clouds finally parting to reveal only the last gasp of a fractured moon.

"Is that…" Yang blinked away the last dissolving droplets. "Qrow?"

With the silhouette of a scythe propped on his shoulder, Yang might have been forgiven this mistake which soon became obvious as he stepped out of the night. Shedding the blackness from his blonde hair if not his shoulders.

"Identify yourself!" Lowering her spear at the stranger, Pyrrha issued the ultimatum with the ire of having been carelessly brushed aside yet again.

"Hang on,"

Staying the redhead with a gentle hand, Yang moved several steps ahead of the group against the whispers in protest. Though it was clearly not her uncle, something about the blond young man screamed familiar in the back of her mind, and she would not be denied the reason why.

-Except by herself as she stood without words in front of the stranger, suddenly stricken with her sister's shy affliction.

"Hey," Cringing while she croaked this and forced herself to give him a small wave.

"Hey." Responding in an easy frequency, a laugh at the silliness of the situation.

Which still left them in silence as the other students sized the newcomer up.

"Hey, hey, see you made it alright." Killer B had no such misgivings. "Still plenty of goons left to fight."

"Is that so?" He placed an arm behind his head in clear embarrassment. "Sorry for taking so long. You at least having fun?"

Giving an unencumbered grin and shrugging his shoulders (still with the delirious girl posed there like a sack of rice), B answered.

"Man, you did no wrong. But gotta be honest, these guys don't seem that strong. Guess to keep B entertained, you needa find something insane."

Nodding to his comrade in understanding, Yang turned back to him once they had finished conversing in the foreign tongue.

"I-uh, take it the big guy's with you?"

"You might say he's a tag-along."

Just as the light banter had been established it was relegated to the wayside.

"So, does that mean you're here to help?" Not much in this question, but the expression she gave him revealed so much more.

"Yeah." Squaring up, he once again became that fearful presence despite his less than impressive size just a hair underneath her.

Yang nodded somberly. "We don't have a lot of ammo left, even with your friend helping us I'm not sure if we could make it very far."

"Injuries?"

"Nothing major." Glancing back to confirm this was true. "But…"

"But?"

"…Blake- my partner's gone. We think she went off to settle some old scores with the White Fang. And Ru- our captain…"

Nodding with an equally severe expression, he looked over his shoulder to the sky where the nightmarish avian still circled like buzzards around the limping stadium.

What she was unable to discern in those eyes like fathomless horizons, she could read in this gesture as his stare crossed leagues and penetrated solid stone. "She's there, isn't she?"

"Yeah."

No questions remained for either of them- no hesitation either as he asserted his will.

"You leave it to me." Before anyone could question this usurpation, a few unintelligible words were spoken to the large man before they were returned. "This is Killer B, by the way. He'll stick with you guys and assist you. I've briefed him on the situation. Just point him in the right direction. Is that alright?"

To Yang, if not the others outside his direct line of sight, it was clear this was not a question.

"That's fine."

"Well then…" Giving his fellow blonde a parting smile. "Best get going then. You take care of everything down here then, huh?"

"Wait!"

Before he could disappear again like the fever-dream they feared he was, he was recalled by someone desperately wanting to cling to that fantasy. He turned to see a hand outstretched, recalled slightly as if hesitant to touch him and ruin a wonderful illusion.

"I-" Words upon words in a train wreck in her throat. "You- you're coming back, right?" Where through fear and pain and frustration she held herself strong, now for some reason tears could not be held back any more. "Promise? You'll bring her back, so we can all-"

Clouds fled from the blue sky as surely as they did for the black, and he smiled at her, birthing a new sun to the pregnant day.

"'Course. I'm looking forward to it. -And, thanks for everything, Yang."

Arriving in darkness, leaving in light.

This flash did not bring illumination to everyone though, and fourteen faces stared at the spot of the magical incident in varying degrees of wonderment.

"What was that?"

Whereas team JNPR had enough insight to sense something of significance and even CRDL had enough sense to know when to keep their mouths shut, the brash leader of CVFY was more uncomfortable around the extra-ordinary than she would like others to believe, and thus was the first to break the trance.

"And why are you crying?"

Several questioning looks were sent the way of the Schnee heiress who returned them with equal puzzlement.

"Wha- me! I'm not-." Only to rub her irritated eyes to discover that she was. "B-but why? I'm not sad, I'm just- it's just tha- I'm just- I- I can't-" Her knees sunk deep into the muddy ground but she was too far gone to care, unable to even steady her breath which came in rapid fire fits and spurts. "Wh-w-wha-wh-what's-?"

"Shh, it's okay." Redirecting that pent-up sisterly instinct, Yang took the hyperventilating girl under her arm and whispered sweet nothings while kissing the top of her head and nuzzling her nose into her frazzled white hair. "It's gonna be alright, remember? We're a team, we're going to get through this."

"Is she going to be okay?"

"Yeah," Speaking in place of Yang who had her hands full, Jaune was the only one qualified to comprehend but an inkling of the girl's plight. "She just had her world-view kicked in the balls. She'll be fine."

Just as the light dawned on the rest of his team's faces (bar Nora who had gone back to resting when the interesting guy went away) they were reminded that they were in fact still on a battlefield, when a very twitchy and large Deathstalker ambled over to them.

"Great. This guy again?"

"Yeah, can't he see we're having a moment here?"

Sarcasm aside, they knew that they weren't in the best of positions which they slowly and carefully began to rectify, starting by moving the shell-shocked Weiss out of danger. A few finally seemed to remember Killer B's presence among them, but the odd individual was content to stand out of the way with a smile on his face and a finger in his ear.

Remaining so, as if he knew the exact moment when the Grimm was frozen and bifurcated anticlimactically, its killers entering the scene nonchalantly.

"Ho, ho, ho, what's up kiddos?" Slinging his massive sack down and spilling its contents of assorted ammunition and weapons, Qrow waltzed over to them with slight hitch in his step. "We come bearing gifts for all the naughty little children who were supposed to evac with the rest of the school. Straight from the little elves over at Beacon's armory."

"Weiss!"

Only now did he notice the ragged state of the students as the elder Schnee elbowed him out of the way in her beeline to her sister.

"What'd I miss?" He inquired of his niece when she too was shoved aside for the alarmed woman and came to stand by him. "And what's up with her?"

Instead of answering, she glanced with a suspecting eye at her uncle to see if he shared the same touch of derangement.

"Did you see him?"

The mention of the unreality caused him to stiffen, then respond in as few words as possible.

"Yeah."

"…"

While the sight of Winter chewing the heads off a bunch of greenhorns would have been endlessly entertaining, Qrow found that he couldn't much enjoy the spectacle as the lingering presence confirmed itself like a persistent cold. He rubbed his nose and reached into his shirt pocket for something to alleviate it.

"Uncle Qrow…" Knowing of his unspoken vow, Yang looked disapprovingly at the flask.

"Not for me."

To her shock, after unscrewing the cap he handed her the polished container. With a disconnect she took it, watched the comedy continue to play out without her. On autopilot taking a swig - wasn't a good idea as she descended into a coughing fit.

"Easy there." Gently patting her back, he took back the flask and knocked one back himself for various reasons.

Controlling herself after a while- unlike Weiss who was still shaking lightly in her sister's arms- Yang looked around at her motely group of friends and comrades in their various states, wondering just when and how things came to be like this.

"…"

"Think she could use one?" He jabbed a finger at Weiss who was insisting she was alright standing by herself and failing.

"…Yeah."

"Mm. They both probably could."

"…"

"Who's the big guy?"

"Killer B. A friend, apparently."

"Mm."

"I think Nora's just exhausted."

"Mm."

"…"

"Want another slug?"

"…Yeah."

Repeating the same mistakes over and over, Qrow found himself once again patting his lightweight niece on the back and muttering the same timeless platitudes.

"Easy there… everything's gonna be alright.

"Everything's gonna be just fine."

* * *

…The same story, over and over. Lying exhausted and spent on her back, staring up at the first instance of stars who even then were shying away from the coming dawn.

"This ends one way, you know."

"Yup."

Night fades to day, gives way to night again.

She got up, in spite of the blade poised at her neck. Took a step forward, allowing that point to penetrate her non-existent Aura, rivulet of blood trickling down her throat and past her collar, pooling somewhere near her heart.

"It would be the simplest thing to end you."

"Yup."

She grabbed the blade, shattered it as nothing but sugar glass.

Tobi let the empty hilt fall by his side. Stared down at the girl who was against all odds on her feet.

"Why?" Catching the sluggish punch aimed at his head. "When you know this is just foreplay and yourself nothing but a pawn in the grand scheme?"

"Yup."

Bringing up her weapon only to have it knocked out of her hand for the nth time that night, following through on the strike with her bare fist to have it caught the same way as the other. Breaking out of both simultaneously, lunging forward on unsteady feet as her insignificant fists crashed against the shore time and again. Rise and fall of the moon controlling the surging tide, retreating only to return with full force.

Impressive taijutsu for such a weakling, he easily directed a strike and placed the arm in a hold behind her back.

"That's not an answer."

"Frustrating, isn't it?" Painfully looking over her shoulder with that insufferable smirk. "When people don't listen."

"Yes." Tobi admitted with a sigh, lamenting. "You know, if only you were born in our world. If only you were stronger…"

"I'm exactly who I need to be."

Letting gravity take over, breaking from his hold and kicking her legs out in a fruitless attempt to trip the man up. Not minding her failure, rolling over her shoulder where she lashed out blindly with a three-point kick, making the man step casually around and try to stomp her back down. But she had already reached the discarded steel, twisting around to harshly bat the leg out of the way before bracing herself on a knee and lunging at his crumbling mask. Casually moving his head, Tobi caught her wrist and dragged her up onto her tippy toes.

"Even if it turns out I'm just a side character," Fighting to keep the steel in hand, to keep her eyes locked on his. "even if I'm just the moon to his sun, that doesn't make me any less important, to him, to my friends, to myself."

"If you're so important, where is he?"

"Getting impatient?" Snickering while suppressing a wince at the iron grip on her wrist. "-Or just afraid I'll finish you before he gets here?"

"If he doesn't show soon, I'll be the one finishing you." Tightening his clutch to illustrate, she refused to cry out even as she felt bones creak and crackle under the pressure.

A snap, a crack, something shattered.

Ruby felt the force holding her up suddenly let go and she dropped against the cold, hackly ground.

Only she didn't. Reality stopped. Or maybe that was what had shattered, and she floated there weightlessly, warm, secure.

"Are you alright?"

Blinking, the stars disappeared from her eyes in place of the glorious sun.

"Sorry I took so long getting here." The grip around her tightened- not uncomfortably, if a little awkward. "It took me a little while to find this." She allowed the fingers to fish into her torn shirt and extract the miniature kunai, blood and barely-legible seals covering every face of that dipyramid.

"I'm here now, though." Feebly, her hand met his. "There's no reason to worry."

How she wanted to believe this, to trust in the sensation enveloping her as something more than real. Yet, the feeling, the sight, none of that made it anything more than the truth she already believed. No less wonderful.

"…Can't stop me from worrying."

"I know." Smiling, one half kindness and the other bearing retribution. "That's what I love about you."

"That's all?" A smile for both halves as they lifted her to her feet so she could stand on her own.

"Well, you're not quite as good-looking as I imagined." She laughed, genuinely if not with some discomfort, brushing back a strand of hair and feeling the bumps and nicks, the broken and reset nose.

"To be fair, you don't look so hot yourself." His smile strained against a fresh burn on the side of his face that was for some reason not healing. Winced against her gentle touch feeling the puckered surface.

"Quite the pair, aren't we?"

Hand that was supporting her now lingering in hers, still unsure of what to do with itself. Desire had lead him here, and now instinct told him to hold -to protect -to touch -to kiss -to caress -to what? Saying something, expressing something that had not yet been expressed through a lifetime. It was finally here, finally happening, yet it wasn't real- or maybe just not his to claim. The sublime catching in his throat.

"Yeah." Serenity staring back at him from silver eyes, having none of these misgivings. "We are."

"Ah, Naruto-kun. At last, the fun can begin!" Giggling with glee, Tobi wasn't perturbed by having to physically hold the two halves of his mask together after the blow which sent him staggering back.

Concurrent growls as the pair moved defensively closer to one another, hand in hand and both hands on weapons of destruction.

"What's with all these assholes being so damn familiar?" Naruto bore his sharp canines in a snarl before his words played back through his head. "Oh- whoops, sorry, I meant-"

"Bastard?" Ruby ventured, wry smirk as even then the word felt dirty. "Inconsiderate jerk? Yeah, he's all of that and more."

"Maa… so mean. It's not like I killed her, you know."

"You shut your mouth." Red hot anger boiling to the surface, curtailed only by that gentle touch. Not insulating, but molding, directing, the temper for his blade.

"In fact, one might say we brought you two together."

Himself letting his hand fall to the side and the shattered remains of that mask go with it to reveal the grotesque smile it concealed. A corpse sprouting from a plant- no part of it human in its intentions.

"Don't listen to him." Telling this to himself more than the other half who wordlessly pressed closer as if she could hide behind his iron resolution like old times. "It was Kurama. He connected us."

"Is that what he told you? And you believed him? For someone so strong, it is hard to believe just how gullible you are."

"Eno-"

" **Hardly**!"

Both were taken aback by the sheer magnitude of hatred conveyed with that single word, the girl balking as she was confronted with the true malevolence she had been unknowingly facing all along. Grimm who had been clashing between fear and hunger stopped circling and fell on Tobi with ear-splitting squeals, whereupon they were impaled on giant thorns emerging and withering in a manifestation of his rage.

" _It's never enough_ , isn't that right? Not enough that you see fit to undermine our determination- deny our sense of justice with your naïve self-righteousness. Not enough that you wish to raze this organization and its accomplishments to the ground in the name of your own selfish ideals. You, who preach understanding and fairness dare not even _listen_ to what we have to say before smiting us as evil men. **I** may be a hypocrite, but you- you are a _traitor_ to yourself. A traitor to her as well, leading her into believing that you are the sole fountain of truth in this wretched life. Is it because you fear that we may be right? That if your fragile mind is exposed to veracity it will contaminate and spoil your conviction? Or is it that you have so little faith in your own chosen path that you don't believe it could weather but a _whisper_ of what really is?"

High in the air Nevermore cried and Gryphons yowled in ravenous anticipation, stirred by this bloodletting.

"Are you done?"

Tobi barked another of his not- laughs, made more unnatural by the sight of his almost-human face.

"Oh no, we are far from done. First you and then the Eight-Tails. Perhaps your lover as well since I admittedly find her fascinating. And whatever comes next, another decade- another _century_ we can bear it. This is a fight of generations for the fate of humanity. What can one little brat do who isn't even half the man his father was?"

"It's not just one." Ruby asserted, for the one next to her as much as the one in front.

"How touching." The man drawled. "And is the poor, misunderstood Fox too considered part of this 'sacred bond'? Even though it killed your parents? Although, I suppose it wasn't _entirely_ his fault. After all, I was controlling it at the time."

"What?" Clear that it was fresh news to both, our antagonist gave his first genuine smile at his victory.

"Oh, dear, did he forget to mention that little detail? I suppose it must have been horribly embarrassing for such a haughty- I mean _mighty_ beast to be controlled by a 'pathetic little human'. Still, didn't keep him from kneeling like a dog and following my… _every…single… whim._ Even tricks he didn't know he could do himself!"

"You wanted to be heard." With animosity she never could have fathomed being exuded from her Other, Naruto menaced the deathly scythe and stared into the cold depths of the man's dark revelries. "So speak. Quit babbling and talk plainly- unless you don't really have a point, in which case let's just cut to the part where I remove your tongue."

"Such hostility," Patronizing, clearly enjoying every second of the negative attention as it excited the already agitated creatures above their heads and nourished the ever-growing dread in the hopeful girl's face. Tobi spread his arms wide, in openness if not surrender. "Why can't we get along? There doesn't have to be a black and white with points of view. We can **both** be liars and hypocrites, truth can be venerated **and** feared, I can be both the savior and the villain, and you can be both strong and my obedient little puppet…"

"Bullshit."

"Maybe the Fox did inadvertently tweak things, and maybe I wanted him to. Maybe I am **still** controlling him and this was all part of the plan to lure you away with the hope of seeing your loved one…"

" **Liar!"**

"That's not a lie… or is it? Is she not everything you always dreamed of? Are there doubts as to her feelings?"

"How dare-!"

Each moment endured next to Naruto's anger was like another anvil stacked atop her shoulders, every second another turn of the vice as his arm clutched her tighter and tighter with both compassion and fear. Who was this person, this dark stranger brandishing the Grim Reaper's blade? Ready to become a martyr, a crusader in her name when all she wanted to do was spread with him the gospel of acceptance. What was the truth of this thing between them?

"So help me, I will kill you! I will _destroy-_!"

Crushing her, so very painful.

"-There're always doubts. Those nightmares you live when you are awake, in them you wonder: 'Could someone so pure love a monster like me?'"

"Yes!"

All was quiet. All was bright. All was still.

Metal rang with a clatter and fell silent. Tolling victory, defeat, hope and desolation. The last of the weapons laid down on that eternal battlefield, and the rain returned to rejuvenate the vanquished earth.

"Ruby…"

Tears soaked his chest as she dug her head into him, trying to revive what lay buried. As hard as he had unknowingly squeezed, she gripped back harder, her claws digging past trappings, armor, and calluses meant to protect him from heartbreak.

 _Radiant Thorn_ joined the discarded arms as he searched for something- anything to alleviate this tragedy he had caused. Collapsing in armistice as his strength could no longer support the two of them.

"I-I'm sorry…" Was he? What did that word even mean to him? "I'm so sorry…" Enough to do what? "Please, forgive me. I just- I lo-"

What had he learned- if anything? Love excuses a great many things, justifies death because it dictates life. Or so he once believed.

Love was immensely painful, like fingers digging into his flesh.

"I'm sorry, I'm just so scared of losing you."

"I know." The smile she gave was eclipsed by tear-soaked blackness. "I'm frightened of losing you, too." Clutching him even tighter, holding tight to his existence even as his lifeblood slipped through her fingers. "It's scary, isn't it? But nothing would make me stop- nothing you could do to make me. I will keep loving you, up until the time you are no longer you."

And on that day, those claws desperately holding him together would rip him to shreds, and the remains would go on to fertilize new fields.

"And… just who am I?"

The lesser, the sacrificial lamb, bastard, anti-hero, demon incarnate, lost…

"Silly. You're my other half." With tears still shimmering in her silver eyes, she looked up and removed one arm from the embrace so that she could rap him on the head. "Isn't that enough?"

"Yeah." Voice shaky, but soul never more undestructable. "More than enough."

Enjoying the silence, the time they had been deprived of for so long. Not thinking, not doing, not remembering, simply watching and reveling in the feeling of absolute contentment. If this were the end of the world and the beginning of Purgatory's eternal wait, neither would want to get any closer to heaven.

But nothing is eternal.

After a lifetime of anticipation, it felt like only seconds before the sun's first rays streaked through the sky above them, winking off the bent and crooked monument to human arrogance and making them realize that time forever marched on. What they heard was not the shrill cries of a Nevermore limping in circles, but the gay trills of a lark searching for its nest.

"No, It's just an owl." Ruby giggled at his silly lie.

"It's totally a lark. Don't you remember the ones outside the window in Patch?"

"I remember the big horned owl which stole Mr. Corduroy."

"Ah! I forgot about him! That stupid bird tore off his arm and dad had to try and reattach it."

"… Only we couldn't find it and he replaced it with a 'robotic arm'."

"-From the action figure someone left in the lost-and-found at school. I think Uncle was the one whose stuff ended up in there the most."

"Say, what was that annoying bird that kept mocking us the day we tried to see under Kakashi-sempai's mask?"

"I think it was a crow."

"Are you sure it wasn't an owl?"

With a laugh she checked him in the shoulder, realizing that it was only the second time they had ever touched. Both were wonderful.

"Qrow!" With that verbal cypher the enigma was cracked, and information once discombobulated rearranged in a panic. "Did you see him? How was he? What about the others- the Grimm- Ozpin- that Woman- us?!"

Not bothering grabbing their weapons, both shot to their feet in a fighting stance, mirror images of one another. Including their dumbfounded expressions.

"Uh…"

Bottom half of his face displaying that distasteful, mocking expression frozen in a living rigor mortis along with the rest of him, Tobi stood in the same position as before. No indication that he recognized their presence- or even that he was alive.

Then they realized why they could hear the bird's unconcerned singing throughout the vastness of the arena. The storm of Grimm had fallen silent- becalmed by that same unfathomable force which locked their mortal enemy in his stone-like state.

"What do you think happened?"

"I don't kn…ow…"

Midway through the expression Ruby felt the borrowed energy be sucked out of her. Blackness hit like Nora's hammer and she knew she was going to pass out. The same way she had known sleep's beckon for the last 15 years and knew that Naruto would catch her before she fell.

"Hey! Are you alright? No, no, no- this can't be happening!"

"Issalright. Justmm… sleepy…" The glow which had been part of what made the scene so perfect and surreal faded from her eyes as she reached up and traced his whiskers. "Gonna take a nap now. Your turn, k?"

"Yeah, that's just fine." Tenderly he placed a kiss on her bloodied forehead, hoping it was the first of many to come. "See you when you wake."

But she didn't hear him as she was already snoring away- rather loudly. He found it endearing- like all her imperfections.

And as for the one who tried to remove those…

Looking between the stacked weapons and the idol of his frustrations. He tried remaining calm whilst Ruby slept away in his arms, oblivious, trusting. Slowly he got up.

"Let's finish this."

* * *

" _To …save me?"_

" _As you did for me, dragging me out of the belly of the Shinigami. So shall I take you away from this place-in-between. I have seen the darkest pits of hell, and this… place, is so much worse."_

" _Is it? If you have seen a darker place than the mind of man, then you will know this is not worse. There is nothing here to be a target of my anger, nothing to scorn or condemn me."_

" _Exactly. There is nothing, which might seem like a release from suffering because it is. A release from everything, from joy, from goodness, from your every thought. A place where not even hope can survive."_

" _What use do I have for hope? There is peace in certainty, relief in ignorance. Here I have both."_

" _You cannot think like that. It is this not-place, already starting to affect you. Making you rationalize, making you forget."_

" _No. I remember. Everything. And I know that coming here was my choice. If I should leave, there would be no more use for this place and it would cease to exist, isn't that right? And without it, what would become of them? Naruto and Ruby could… No, best not to speculate. For once, I wish to be content with what I have done and leave no more room for mistakes."_

" _And what have you done? In this not-space, the actions you took in life are meaningless. Without a future there can be no past. Everything might exist on either side of this nothingness you created. But in here, every decision is just waiting to happen, and not even the shadow exists."_

" _Then so be it. I never asked the Old Man to give me life. I am weary of contemplating my purpose, the justice of my actions. I no longer care if I was a monster to many or a friend to a few. I am tired of this feeling of_ _ **guilt**_ _they bequeathed me. Let the plate be swept clean and leave me to slumber in this space I do not deserve. A cage without boundaries."_

" _It is not a cage without boundaries, but a bridge without destinations."_

" _Then let the river of time flowing underneath carry you away if you wish. As for me, I wish to sleep."_


	37. Purgatorio (2)

**Well, can't keep sitting on this and editing it forever. We've all suffered enough.**

 **Notes before we start, because I'm a nerd and can't seem to write like a human being, here are two definitions to clarify things (somewhat)**

 **AA: Pronounced 'Ah-Ah', Hawaiian word used in geology to refer to an especially viscous lava flow.**

 **Leucosome: White part of a rock (the actual explanation would take up about a page, so I'll leave you to look that up if you're so inclined)**

 **Vajra Mudra: A hand sign used commonly in Buddhist practices, in Japanese it is known as 'Retsu' as part of the nine. One meaning is: "** **seal of the interpenetration of the two realms"**

* * *

"Ah, for the love of god, no! D-Don't'!"

His pleas might as well have been directed at a tidal wave for all the good they would have done being bounced off the two-headed serpent undulating over to him. For this was also force of nature, and even if it had been at one time a creation of a god either good or ill, it was no longer under its direction once unleashed upon the world. An unrelenting clockwork like time, marching forward and trampling over everyone in its path.

All the money he had gathered in his lifetime, the favors earned, and the secrets kept meant nothing for he was going to die like so many others. This man was all alone. Life no more important than a field mouse as it cowered in paralyzed fear. Pretending this isn't the case is a fool's burden.

"AHHHH!"

Thing is, sometimes, through no rightful cause or logic the mouse is spared its fate, however temporarily. Wishful thinking would ascribe it to some virtue of the prey, some attribute like weapons, or influence, or sheer guile.

But it is truly nothing more than the luck of the draw.

Not believing his own luck, the man stared at the garishly colored archangel that appeared from thin air to slay the dragon with a gob-smacked look frozen on his face.

Rolling her eyes, the very real and very human creature jerked her head away from the disintegrating corpse and the path of rubble in its wake, urging the man to flee. When instead he continued to simply lay on his rear at this mute command, she took the flat of the pencil-thin blade and smacked him on the shin, earning a startled squawk.

This move did remind the man that he was still alive however, and he quickly scrambled to his feet when his body realized it too. He took off down the abandoned streets in his half-priced dress shoes and discount business suit without a backwards glance at his undeserved handout.

She sighed and shook her head, not even for the first time that night as she wondered why she bothered with these beasts in clothes- clothes that were leagues better than the unflattering orange garbage bag she was currently wearing.

"T-thank you!"

Blinking as she held the garment away from her body like it was infected, she looked in the direction the man she saved was fleeing, wondering if she had truly heard him yell.

Noiselessly she giggled, remembering it didn't matter.

The giddy expression diminished when she looked on at the far horizon, at the unnaturally black clouds which continued to linger over that one-time Beacon of hope. Eyes swirled in color like the living storm which they observed, peaceful in the distance as it was there on the ground. Both silences were lies.

Without a peep which might have betrayed this, she mouthed words that had no more effect than the man's cries of mercy.

Finish this.

* * *

"Either finish me or let me leave be." Bitterly accepting that the former was drastically more probable as he clutched a throbbing stitch in his side and leaned heavily against a tree to support his quivering legs. "-But if you keep playing with me, I shall make you regret it."

"Eee! Dark… **Are you really so ready to die, Ozpin-san?** "

Chuckling to disguise the wince, he kickstarted the failing cells with microscopic pulses of Aura. The beleaguered man knew it was but a temporary fix and that his mortal coil would not hold forever.

"You don't really know me very well, do you? In fact, I daresay you probably don't know half of what is really going on, just enough to extort what you need out of people. You've made it no secret that you're not from this world. So, is it just us, or is it your own populace as well? Are you a pathogen proliferating itself throughout time and space, or just a parasite eating its way through hosts?"

" **We are neither** … just a servant… **a scavenger.** " Its blank gaze and creeping smile felt to Ozpin like a fungus actively trying to grow in him.

"Hardly a scavenger. An opportunist, maybe…" Looking himself for any opportunity to gain the upper hand. While professing not to care for Salem's desires, this thing was keeping him alive on her instructions, of that he was sure. Therefore, if he could get some sort of leverage he might just come out victorious _._ He couldn't afford not to. "…but a servant. That implies that someone else is choosing your actions and motives besides Salem."

"That is not… **untrue.** " A pause wherein one had to wonder what was going on in the mind of the being known as Zetsu, where semblance of thought and will peaked through the brambles. "We exist to serve the mistress… **to return that which was stolen from her** **…** we don't really care for you beings without Chakra, but… **we need the one with the eyes to bring her back.**"

"I don't understand why you need her, but you should understand that Ruby is important to our world too and I cannot let you have her, especially if you are planning further actions." Surprising that it was being this amicable, at this late in the game the headmaster saw no harm in having the truth laid bare. And perhaps it should have been all along.

"She is just… **a means to an end** … it's Naruto-kun we really want… **he's ours! We made him! They are both ours and you can't have them!** "

If he had been moving, Ozpin would have stumbled at the outburst from the otherwise obtuse creature. Genuine emotions beyond an artificial cruelty and childlike innocence, parroting the behaviors of intelligence. Here was something it actually cared about.

"What do you mean, 'you made them'? You understand that Ruby was born here in Remnant, on Patch, to her mother Summer Rose and father Taiyang?" Neglecting to mention he had presided over it all.

Zetsu let loose another unearthly giggle that was like trees creaking in the wind.

"We needed the Rinnegan… **so we made it** … a little poke, a little prod… **the right genes** … and there you go!... **well, not directly. But one of our other experiments worked, and they retrieved his eyes for us** …like a good little puppy!"

"So, you muddled around with life because you needed…what? A tool?" Trying hard to keep his darker emotions in check while the Grimm still entrapped them like a forest fire, at this admission he lost what little restraint left in his decaying corpse and an inferno sought to claim all that was left.

"Yes! It was so easy! All we had to do was wait!... **and it was just luck that he turned out to be a Jinchῡriki too …** not to mention such a cute weakness!"

With a heave and a lurch Ozpin left the support of the tree behind, stumbling a bit on his worn-out leather dress shoes. Tottering slightly while his vision swam, he gathered what strength remained in that failing body for one final exchange.

"Now, I do see. I understand, and I pity you."

" **Pity?** **"** Halfway between a laugh and a snarl as that gaping may tried to swallow the human words.

"Yes, you are nothing but a mindless monster like Grimm. Like them, you exist merely to perpetuate someone else's mistake without a will to call your own."

The Grimm around them howled like hyenas, as if knowing they were being snubbed. Zetsu meanwhile went blank, expressing nothing. But retreating into this vegetative state was still a retreat, and Ozpin pressed his first and likely only advantage.

"We are used to living with your kind, and no matter how strong you are, eventually we find ways to hunt you. But whomever it is that dictates your actions, they I cannot forgive just as I cannot forgive myself. I have made more mistakes than anyone -living **or** dead, and can therefore not allow another to follow the same path."

As headmaster, it should not have been surprising that one day he would have to relearn one of his own lessons. It was a series of mistakes that lead him here, and it would only be by retracing his them that he would escape.

" **Your words are meaningless since you are incapable of supporting them. You are weak, and growing weaker by the minute …**.If you were in our world, we'd eat you like a bug!"

"I can see why you'd think that." Lighting in the air, hackles raising and eyes hardening like quenching steel. All serving to drive their morbid audience wild with anticipation. "So I am sorry if I gave you a false impression. But- oh, what is that saying? Oh yes- We're not in Kansas anymore.

"This is my domain!"

Bellows, heralding the return of Ozpin, the Great and Terrible.

With an all-encompassing sweep like the hand of time, the clockwork mechanism within his cane whined and strained and spat out a great fan of flame which rapidly took up the space between the two. Having been on the receiving end of far grander conflagrations, Zetsu treated this one with contempt and disdain, waiting to see what if anything the foolish man hoped to accomplish.

Second stroke of the maestro, blustery winds of Fall swept through the season of fire and fed the flames so that even the experienced assassin had to find shelter among the roots as the rest of the plant-based life succumbed to the torrent. Within seconds, a forest that had taken hundreds of years to build- trees that the man had seen grown from saplings were consumed.

Half knew what Ozpin was attempting to do, half knew only the pain from the dying forest. Both rushed towards the man while underground to exact revenge and settle their contentions once and for all.

The third beat brought the drums as the man pounded the earth. The note he struck resounded like an earthquake in Zetsu's head, liquified the dirt and lifted it like a blanket before brutally dropping it back down on top of him.

Fleeing the submerged space before he became part of the groundmass, the plant-man flew at his target with the intent to euthanize instead of restrain. It didn't seem to matter what world they were in, some humans simply couldn't be kept alive because of their stubbornness, and if the self-proclaimed Witch could not understand that then she would never succeed in her mission.

Which meant they would have to do it for her. White-Zetsu already had clones poised for this very task, as well as to take down the headmaster while he was concentrated on the original.

To this end, Zetsu uplifted two of the burning trees by their roots and swung them like clubs at the man who didn't so much as blink before julienning them.

What remained of the arbors igniting like fireflies on that hot summer night. All but blinding even to the plant-man as he flew through them and struck with myopic intent. Ignoring the inferno as orange flames lapped at his extended arm, fingers like thorns raked across and felt sweet resistance.

In that numbing pain of being burned though, flesh felt the same. Indistinguishable, like the pain of being on fire and the pain of his arm being severed at the elbow.

An incredulous diminuendo, a pause in which the normally crafty creature comprehended the reversal and key change.

Rising through the flames like a phoenix, Ozpin leapt over the snapping jaws of the Venus Flytrap whilst scoring a deep cut in the plant's back. Not allowing time for a counterattack, the human struck again with a kick that sent his opponent into reeling against the crumbling remains of his own clone, as he prepared for the next segment.

A crescendo, a staccato of strikes as more of Zetsu's clones attacked him from all sides. As if reading ahead on the sheet music, Ozpin nailed each adversary the moment they came up. Then came a slur of stabs from the original to which he mirrored the phrase bar for bar.

For his part, the unwitting critic was stumped. He had existed for decades, centuries in hiding. Manipulating events not only to work for his survival, but towards the eventual revival of his creator. To be predicted as such should not be possible. Zetsu could not fathom where this virtuoso had sprouted from, could not wrap his mind around the fact that he could possibly be the dilettante challenging the master.

Ignoring this traitorous thinking, the plant-man acknowledged that he had to stem the flames which were quickly spreading and threatening to consume the both of them- a fact which did not seem to perturb the arsonist.

Little was he to know that Ozpin had played this canonic symphony before. The moment Zetsu started spewing liquid from his mouth, he was ready with another crystal in hand, light blue projectile hurled into the stream and freezing it faster than it could come out. The newly formed icicle exploded in his face and he hissed in annoyance as the individual fragments were boiled by the uncaring flames.

Re-growing and hardening his forearm, Zetsu blocked the man's next slash and allowed it to sink in and harden like mud. Before he could do the same to the man, Ozpin leapt backwards to the edge of their fiery ring.

" **You were hiding your true strength this entire time** …meenie!"

There was nothing separating his chuckling from the crackling of the flames.

"Oh no, you are quite correct. I am far, far weaker than you. Even now I have no doubt that I will not survive this fight." In a show of equivalent exchange, Ozpin deigned to answer the pitiable creature's question. Standing up straight, he carefully adjusted his glasses with the palm of his hand.

"I simply have more experience. Having the tools and knowing how to use them are two very different things." To illustrate, with a showman's flourish he pulled a finger-full of multicolored crystals out of thin air. "From what I have seen, you have no problem mimicking nature's abilities and can do so without these as an aid. Your shear capability far outstrips mine, but you lack the ability to fully utilize your advantages."

" **We are not as inexperienced as you so assume.**" Black Zetsu growled.

"That may be, but what of the things you have not experienced? Someday you will come up against that which is not in your repetoire." Clutching his palm, Ozpin made the crystals vanish again and smiled sublimely. "Just as I am now. Before I was fighting with the intention of protecting my students, but I see now that this goal is futile. Nay- it is pointless. I cannot protect them against the likes of you. I cannot prepare them, and can only offer the chance. Therefore…"

Snapping one of his fingers, the sword which had been all but absorbed into Zetsu's body mass detonated like a Bangalore torpedo and sent the handle flying right into Ozpin's waiting grasp.

"…I have to come to terms with the fact that I am superfluous."

As Zetsu charged, Ozpin backpedaled to where his sheath lay forgotten, kicking it up into his hand and snapped it into place. Tossing one of the hidden Dust crystals, he struck it with the cane and a bright light engulphed the battlefield. Halting his attack, Zetsu once more retreated into the Earth and there he waited for the man's next move, pondering the sudden change in the cantankerous individual.

Nothing happened for a while in which the submerged assassin kept thinking in circles about the man's intent and purpose. That record continued to skip until he realized he was getting nowhere. Water logged his system. The now flooded ground above him pressed heavy on his shoulders, depriving him of the oxygen even he needed to survive while under.

Bursting forth in a spray of murky droplets, he blitzed the man with speeds previously reserved for shinobi the likes of Itachi and other Akatsuki members. Ozpin was forced back with several wounds which he shrugged off as if he too could regrow them.

In contrast to Zetsu's childish smile and grievous actions came Ozpin's serious smirk and childish actions. He started splashing water into the plant's face every time an attack came. Chipping it in golf swings between deflecting Zetsu's organic blade, kicking it up with confounding dance-steps which kept him just outside of reach.

"Now who is the one **playing around?** " The creature growled, decrying the futile delaying tactics.

"Oh, I'm not playing. I'm just not as good as Glynda at this."

Like a schoolboy stomping into a puddle, Ozpin kicked up a ring of brackish water in a circle. And then with a sweep of his mighty staff, the droplets were attracted to the lingering static charge in the metal. Coalescing, he struck the teardrop shape like a pool cue straight at the trailing Zetsu who was taken aback by the bullet of liquid.

One after the other came hurtling at him as Ozpin slowly retreated into the border between fire and water, steam rising like an ethereal mist at that point of contact. His pursuer was not about to let him cross through the curtain. Zetsu was always used to being the invisible one and wasn't sure if he could track this insignificant breed of humans scurrying away like a field mouse in a rice paddy.

But to his confoundment, Ozpin stopped short of the fog and suddenly reversed direction, charging straight at him. Confoundment soon turned into an emotion Zetsu could hardly remember the name of. Surprise, as Ozpin's blow struck home accompanied by a lingering tingle as the reenergized capacitor discharged over his water-logged cells.

And then another, and another, that measure repeated time and again until Zetsu was sure he could never feel shock- literal or figurative, ever again.

"Huh, I suppose an old dog can learn new tricks."

Leering down at the mandrake with roots halfway in the water, Ozpin sported a cruel smirk on his face that portrayed a different man. One which had been constantly lurking behind that shroud of civility. Once carefully guarded by its high walls painstakingly stacked over the years, now they had come crashing down, revealing that they were not to keep invaders out, but to keep a monster within.

"W **ha** t d **id** you **do to me?!** "

"I was not always such a… considerate individual." Sneering, Ozpin waded through the inundated battlefield, carefully picking his way around the downed, but certainly undefeated Zetsu. "In another lifetime, I was the kind of person others would want to be rid of through any means necessary. Needless to say, I learned from that … the hard way."

Cane twirling in hand, he stabbed the blunt tip deep into the muck with nary a splash and crouched down in front of the crawling vine.

"Poison can be quite painful, as I am sure you are now figuring out. A coward's weapon to be sure, but I do not mind that title. I am willing to use whatever means necessary to defeat you."

" **But…how?!** " Rasps like the hiss of vapor. "I am… **immune** … to all toxins!"

"In your world, maybe." Slowly, as if plucking a rose from a bramble of thorns, Ozpin reached out towards Zetsu's head. "…But we're not in your world, are we?"

"DON'T TOUCH ME!"

Both recoiled, Ozpin before he could be bitten and Zetsu before that hand like leprosy could touch him. The cells of his body sensitive to the minute changes of environment registered something… foul in the terrible man's hand. A season of death within the palm, decay, pestilence- an end to everything.

" **The seasons…** " Breathing heavy as far away from the man as he could leap, Zetsu observed the critiquing gaze, but more so the blackened and disease-ridden fingers that were about to touch him. " **We did not make the connection at first** …but you are the one who created the four Maidens… **leaving only the plague for yourself.** "

"How astute." Annoyed, Ozpin drawled. "Perhaps there is a brain behind that carapace."

Unnervingly, Zetsu smirked, pushing past the pain of having his body forcibly break down from the poison Ozpin had splashed him with and accelerated with the static charge.

"More than a mind… **there is purpose.** "

With no more discomfort than before, Zetsu began to tear himself apart down the middle, separating black from white and leaving an oozing bridge between the two like bloody snot. Once this morbid display was complete, the White half let out a shrill scream that forced Ozpin to cover his ears and squint so that he could barely catch the leucosome dissolving like a witch into the water.

" **A purpose that outlives the individual. We are the embodiment of that goal, and therefore you will never defeat us. We are legion.**"

From the fog another White Zetsu emerged and seamlessly took the place of the other, integrating itself with the melanin-colored half. Its reformed grin spread from ear to ear and showed none of the previous discomposure.

"Tch. So you sequestered the poison in your other half and purged both in one stroke." No less harsh, the smirk held by the former headmaster held a twitch of resignation as the plant-man shrugged off one of his trump cards. Thankfully, he did have more. "Now that hardly seems fair."

"Ne, ne, didn't you basically admit… **anything's fair?** "

"So I did." Flare of frustration cooling into anger, Ozpin slipped a hand backwards into his pocket wherein lay his scroll. "Unfortunately, that kind of attitude makes matches like these rather short-"

His hands fumbled keying in the code to summon his personal weapons locker by a loud crack and a roar. The sound making the lingering swamp shutter and jump in excitement. It seemed as if Remnant itself were breaking up like the moon so long ago.

Even though he had never personally heard it in all his many lifetimes, Ozpin knew what it was. The last vestiges of defiance crumbled as he realized it was likely his increase of animosity which summoned the ancient beast.

Occupied with his own monster there was nothing he could do, so that even the mutually assured destruction he had planned for them seemed a useless gesture. Staying his hand from calling the explosive-filled locker, he let it drop languidly by his side.

As the Grimm Dragon emerged from its mountainous tomb, it crushed the surrounding stone into dust which took to the sky like a revival of the storm which had smothered them since the previous day. Lightning which flashed between those clouds presented an image parallel with damnation, framing that fearsome creature.

The reality, however, was perpendicular to that assumption.

" **So** … Octopus-san is here."

The only thing clear was Zetsu's irritation as Ozpin watched the storm dance around the monster in erratic patterns. If he didn't know better, it appeared as if the lightning was attacking, attempting to restrain the creature. This thought brought laughter, but not from him. Giddy bellows echoing like thunder from the broken mount, overshadowing the ragged cries of the Dragon as it reeled in agonizing prickliness.

" **Hmm… it appears that I can no longer afford to linger here.**" The recently reignited hope was almost smothered when an emotionless Zetsu turned his attention back to the him. " **Tobi should have finished the Nine-Tail's Jichῡriki by now** … but seeing as he's kinda late… **perhaps we should go help him retrieve the Rinnegan from Naruto.**"

"Stop!"

The plant-man who suddenly took off in the other direction and Ozpin found himself unable to follow as his body declared that it could go no further and he collapsed onto a knee, clutching the empty cavity in his chest. The power that he had saved up for decades and blown through in just a few minutes was a part of him, something he kept locked up for the potential damage it could cause. A remnant from creating the Maidens, the last of his power, the last thing keeping him propped-up was gone.

But he was not without his will, that which propped him up and craned his neck in the direction of the escaping Zetsu so that he could glare in bitter spite. It made the sight of an icy wall like crystal sugar erupting and halting the assassin that much sweeter.

"I apologize for being late, headmaster." Correcting the last detail from her otherwise impeccable appearance, Glynda Goodwitch tucked a strand of blonde hair back over her ear as she strolled out of the trees. A flick of her wrist brought the wall crashing down in pointed shards, forcing Zetsu to retreat back further into the clearing. "I had to deal with some unruly children who refused to get out of my way… Ozpin!"

Taking her unamused gaze off the strange enemy for a moment, she saw the pitiable state her boss was in and rushed to his side.

"Forget about me!" He insisted, tearing her concerned hands off his degenerating corpse. "Don't let that thing escape!"

"I wouldn't worry about that." Glynda appraised with eyes narrowed at the plant-creature attempting once more to flee. "I brought help."

With the most basic of ninjutsu, Zetsu replaced himself with a tree limb which was consumed in flame as soon as he did. Declining to show his nonplus, he stared out at the previously-blank spot in the woods from whence the pervading forest-fire struck out at him with purpose. Coalescing from the curtain of flames was a woman he should have recognized but didn't bother to.

"Like Glynda said, sorry to be late." Chestnut eyes twinkled with the fire in her hands as she shot a chagrinned smile at the silver-haired man. "And, sorry to have been so much trouble."

"No trouble at all… Amber." Ozpin greeted, mustering a smile past clenched teeth. "Glad to have you here."

" **The Fall Maiden** … so Cinder-san failed, huh?"

"I'd say that was an understatement." Remembering the grizzly scene which greeted her upon entering Amber's chamber, Glynda frowned. "Her two lackies have also been incapacitated… no thanks to those two."

"Hey, I blame 'Ms. Procedure' for delaying us." From the shadows where previously only a red-eyed crow resided came a humored voice.

"What?" Yet another stranger to the plant-man, composed but not nearly as well as the deputy headmistress as she emerged from the opposite side of the clearing. "How in the world do you reconcile that delusion?"

Qrow shot his reluctant partner a pointed look and mouthed a string of words which made the woman frown.

"…Whatever."

"Indeed." Ozpin drawled, attempting to stand only to be caught by his assistant when he stumbled. "The real question is if you are here, who is watching the students?"

His and Ironwood's agents shared a look that he couldn't identify before they answered, pointing to the sky.

"We got some… unexpected allies."

"The 'Octopus'?" Ozpin ventured, watching as the dragon was systematically being worn down and even- if he could trust his failing vision- being battered around.

"…Among others…" Qrow's answer vague and mysterious.

Perhaps not to the wise headmaster though who interpreted the look and smiled in peace once again. "Well, I am happy to have all the help I can get." After taking stock of his immediate allies, he leveled his gaze once more to Zetsu who had remained unusually still throughout the introductions.

"Damnit!" The sudden exclaim alerted Glynda so she could hold onto to the wilted man as he tried to jerk from her grip. "He got away! Everyone, head for Amity Coliseum! Stop him!"

The hunting party wasted time sharing questioning looks as the plant man remained rooted with a smirk. Amber was the first to notice the change in their supposedly 'trapped' adversary and so was unsurprised when the fireball she hurled at him did nothing but reveal a slowly melting sculpture of mud.

Before the cruel smirk had time to harden and crack, three of the four were off, leaving Glynda supporting her long-time friend and boss who urged her onward.

"Go, Glynda." Relaxing, and with an air of finality he stated. "There is nothing you can do for me now except to ensure that the next generation has their chance."

If there was one order the woman had a right to protest after all the time by his side, it was this. So he was not at all surprised when she refused to let him sink into the mud of his own making. Instead, she waited with him propped against one of the few remaining trees until his eyes closed and his breath ceased.

After that, it was no longer his concern.

* * *

 _Alone again, huh?_

 _He was no longer there… if he had ever been there… if this hadn't been anything but a dream in my failing conscious._

 _Could I even dream anymore? Sleep passed time that wasn't there. The period of resting but a snap of the fingers, just like being awake._

 _How many times have I had this same train of thought running through my head? Once? Twice? A dozen?_

 _Have I ever_ _ **not**_ _thought about how alone I am?_

 _Alone even in company, alone with myself and my emotions._

 _Bitterness wants to define me. Rage. Jealousy. Such strong feelings with space to occupy and expand. Boundless should I not try and restrain them._

 _Why should I?_

 _Because they are out there. On the other side._

 _And so, here I am. A grain of sand amidst the eternal desert._

 _Waiting, for them to come and find me._

* * *

"You… li-ttle…pu-u-nk."

"Oh, so you are awake."

Not so much as pausing for this little exchange, Naruto continued what he was doing with the studiousness of a monk. The brush made from a wood sliver, steel wire and his own hair continued its journey from the man's collarbone up his throat, tickling the jugular. Making that hate-filled eye twitch at the gall and try even harder to tear open a portal into another dimension.

"What… are you… doing to me?"

"I see that whatever that was is wearing off." The acerbic diatribe was water off his back as Naruto concentrated on a particularly difficult character right underneath the man's chin. "Too bad-Ah! There we go." The rising sun reflected off the shattered glass from the fallen commentator's box and illuminated his work.

"As soon as I can but blink… I will tear you to shreds, Kyῡbi or no."

"That's your right." Hand flying against time, in contrast to his clones who were carefully and deliberately doting on Ruby as she lay on a bed of salvaged stadium seats not far away. "If that's how you feel after we're done. However, if you try, I will not fail to stop you."

As sure as he was that his latest masterpiece would be completed before the sun fell on the broken arena, the remnants of the final battle and the building blocks for a new chapter.

"You think you can beat me? Hah! When I was your age, I was killing the Yodaime, not to mention your moth-"

"-It's probably not a good idea to distract me while I'm working on this." His hand wavered over the current symbol as he contemplated all the different ways he could modify the seal he was building to cause immeasurable amounts of pain to this man who had taken so much from him. Only by casting his mind back to his better half could he continue with his route. Every ensuing stroke became easier as he remembered that determination.

"Besides, you won't need to say anything. Because pretty soon, I'll know it all."

"Just what do you think you are going to accomplish? I will willingly tell you the way things will play out in as much excruciating detail as you'd like. I will gladly tell you of the horrors that exist outside your rose-colored world which led me to this conclusion."

"I don't doubt you would." After tickling the frozen man's ears with the brush for his own amusement, Naruto faced him so that he could see the crooked smile he adorned. "But you've probably been lying to yourself for so long that you don't remember what's real and what's not. So ya understand, I got to see the truth for myself."

Purposefully pressing hard and letting his brush linger between Tobi's eyebrows inordinately long, he backed off to see the haphazard sun spray bhindi in the center of his array, admiring it with a touch of glee before tossing the brush aside and settling himself down cross-legged in the spot he reserved.

"And… in turn, you will know my story."

"What?"

Without a mask, Tobi appeared to express himself like any other human despite the deformities contorting his face. Although, maybe this was the first thing that truly frightened him, the possibility of being exposed to the madness- or having himself exposed, it was not clear.

"Are you insane?" The grin answered everything he needed to know about that question. "What about your 'little friend'? You wouldn't be so foolish as to do something to endanger her." There was an unspoked question at the end of that observation that both heard clearly.

"That's why she's outside the circle." Smile never diminishing, Tobi looked past it to note this fact. "She's also why I'm doing this… no. That's not true. I'm doing this because I want to be a better person for her. I want to try and make this life we shared count for something. And if that means understanding your story, then so be it."

As Tobi continued to stand as if that silver light struck him again, Naruto relaxed in his position and brought his left hand into an upward pointing fist with index finger extended, while his right clamped down on that index finger and his thumb struck painfully into the center of the nail. Vajra Mudrā thusly complete.

"This seal is complex, you clearly have a wealth of knowledge stored up in that deranged mind." Sweating out what moisture was in his mouth, Tobi continued to try and reason despite his failing words. "But something like this- it's too complex. No person in their right state of mind would attempt to do such a thing. And even if you were, how do you know it will work?"

"I don't." Smile now as serene as Buddha himself, Naruto let go. "But it was luck that got me this far."

Luck, and a little helping hand.

* * *

 _Was that a scream far off in the distance? A little tippy-tapping on the walls of my cell, rattling of the bars…_

 _Or was that just me? Am I going insane in here as he promised, or was he just my excuse to do so?_

 _There are no walls, no bars, no rattling like mice scurrying around inside my head._

 _But the scream, enough to rouse me from my slumber- that was real. As real as anything can be in this not-place. I'd know it anywhere, and nowhere._

 _It was the shock of being brought out into the light after so long in the dark._

* * *

Once upon a time there was a child.

Taken from its dark cave where everything was warm and familiar, it was thrust into the harshness of life with the lights that were too bright, noises that were too loud, hands that were too rough, and events which made no sense in comparison to the place where nothing ever happened.

This child would grow, and as it would grow it would come to learn that the world were things happen isn't such a bad place. Pleasures it erstwhile wouldn't have known blunted the rough edges, for a time.

Like for all of us though, time marches on.

As the years pass, this being which was once a child would learn that even more harshness awaited it in this open space called life. Greater pleasures would come too, but it would be a constant struggle against that idealized memory of the cave. Thus, it would come to a question, presented while standing on its high outcrop overlooking those still trapped in that darkness. Was if it was all worth it in the end?

The answer was no.

The answer was yes.

Life, as it turned out, wasn't simply the place outside of the cavern. It was an endless series of caverns nested like matryoshka, and each station was another step into the larger world which brought fiercer climes and clearer views. On that ultimately perilous ascent, some souls inevitably got lost on the way and emerged from the fog mistakenly thinking they had reached the top.

In the end, there was never any top and all of them were crawling about blindly in the mist.

This was the story of Uzumaki Naruto, of Ruby Rose, of Obito Uchiha, of all of us, and the lie they call life.

The most wonderful lie of all.

* * *

It didn't work.

It couldn't have, for he felt no different than before, no more content and no less confused than he had been his entire life. Had he lied to himself, feigning to go up when in fact he was stoking his unavoidable march downward?

There would be others waiting for him, at least. He would not be alone as he joined all those sinners he had slain. Familiar faces greeting him with pained smiles, Hidan, Kakuzu, Nagato, Konan…

Wait. Something was different, wrong.

Rather than try and think about it any more with his head which felt like Yang had used him to vent her frustrations with a sub-par haircare product, he did the marginally less-painful thing and opened his eyes.

A smile greeted him, but not from any one of those hungry ghosts.

"Hey there sleepy-head."

Blinking flashed an image of another girl, one with purple markings on her cheeks that weren't bruises and reddish-brown hair that wasn't from the blood and mud caking everything around them. That wasn't the girl he was seeing now, but her face was anything but a lie.

"What happened after I passed out?" Ruby asked as he slowly blinked awake.

Though he would have liked to lay there forever with his head in her lap and staring up at the fluffy clouds that lazily drifted on by, he too desired an answer to this question. So he sat up.

Tried to anyway, as both tired teens fumbled with limbs that wouldn't quite obey what their minds wanted them to do. Eventually they succeeded, leaning on one another to avoid further slapstick and a painfully short journey back down to the ground. Both sets of bloodshot eyes regarded the haphazardly strewn form of Tobi- no, Obito Uchiha, as he lay dissociated from the White-Zetsu prosthetic. Whimpering a bit as he slept restively.

"So, you won, huh?"

With a gaze burgeoning with all kinds of understanding he looked down at the pitiable creature. "That remains to be seen." Though once said, he recognized the falsehood and aimed to correct it.

"Owie!" Ruby exclaimed with a flinch, nearly toppling the two of them. "What was that for?" She asked, rubbing her bruised ribs.

" _ **We**_ won." Naruto emphasized, not entirely remorseful for the poke if his sly smile was anything to go by.

"Jerk." Whispered endearingly. And, with a little more force than necessary, she leaned her head into his producing an audible bonk.

"What happens now?"

An open-ended question which stretched far higher than the prone remains of the Akatsuki in front of them. Past the open top and into the blue sky free of those dark smudges called Grimm. A series of stories not yet written were contained inside, ready to be unleashed on that blank canvas.

" **Now, you die."**

A beautiful flower blossomed in his chest, petals as soft as liquid and as red as blood surrounded a sharp, blackened stem that extended its way towards the sun. The smell was odd, but familiar. A metallic taste like quicksilver flowed from his mouth and washed out the name on the tip of his tongue. It was all rosy to him.

A blossom which disappeared all too soon, leaving a gaping hole to be filled up by a blizzard of petals, too small and too scattered to accomplish the task.

"No, no, no, no, no, no…" Coming out of her semblance, she lay him down gently on her lap same as before. "Please! Naruto speak to me!"

It wasn't like before. This wasn't a temporary slumber.

Looking up to see her perfectly imperfect visage haloed by the sun, he felt at last like he could see the silver lining in it all.

But he couldn't say so. He couldn't say a thing. It was too late. He still wasn't quick enough.

The only thing which came was a drowned gurgle and flecks of blood which splashed against her face. It flowed like a river from his mouth and his chest onto the ground, a biblical flood, a plague. More emotions flowed from her heart into a body that could scarcely take it anymore. Though she tried not to, a blink of an eye was all it took for all the light in his to fade.

She screamed.

A pinch, a slap, a fall, a shot in the gut- anything to wake her from this nightmare. Having walked the line so many times, she knew this was nothing but reality. Horrifying clarity as her heart tried to rattle its way out of her chest, and the blood still flowing in her veins ignited with the friction and tried to burn its way out.

With anyone- anything at all watching as her witness, she would not be the only one to burn.

" **It is no longer worth keeping him alive** … can't sense the Fox, don't know what he did with it… **nor the Rinnegan. Even if he's hiding it, at this point its simply better to start over from scratch** **…** the fox will reform… **and we can always try again.** "

Zetsu regarded his curved blade of an arm, recently quenched with fresh nutrients. The lack of care displayed towards the simmering huntress wasn't a mistake. It was the correct decision to take out the bigger threat, as he knew exactly what the little one was going to do next.

" **Don't worry, no one will interrupt us. They're still chasing after my clones.**" She stared at him, giving him a view of his current objective.

"Ozpin-san was right, those silver eyes are something special… **they completely dissolved all the clones I had here. Perhaps I could even use them for my own goals.** " Pausing in its pontification, Zetsu changed its attention to the second of two weapons, swallowing the blunted one as fast as the other like a circus freak. Unlike the scythe which he integrated, the kabutowari simply disappeared into his gullet like a black hole. "Might not be able to use those eyes as is… **but in a few generations** … a little more tweaking…"

"Give it back."

"Hah?"

It was still smiling as the hand clamped over its face, fingers digging in to those jaundiced eyes.

"-Everything you stole."

The plant's head became mulch, and just as rapidly her other hand shot out to the scythe still incorporated into its arm, aiming at recovering it all piece by piece. Yet even without a head, the animated arbor skipped out of her range as she made no attempt to follow it.

" **We took nothing.** " The black half reformed first, garbling a response. " **We gave everything. You are our crop. This world, our garden.** "

From the inconsequential gaps between the tiles, wires leapt and wrapped themselves around Zetsu, staking him upright like a tomato.

"No, we're not."

Eyes as silver and sharp as that wire, she stood still as every atom in her body vibrated past physical and theoretical bounds, latent energy building up and speeding down those pathways provided. Zetsu writhed and hissed as the water contained in his cells tried to boil itself out.

"You wanted a harvest, you got us." She wrapped the biting wire around her hands, painfully dragging the squirming creature forward. "This world grows what it wants and… roses are weeds, too, you know?"

Zetsu deformed as thin as an asparagus to escape, but Ruby yanked back anyway having snagged what she wanted. _Radiant Thorn_ fell into her grip as she seamlessly tucked the other weapon in what remained of her combat dress.

"Maybe that's all any of us are." Feeling like a blade of grass, mown and trampled. "Pretty, ugly, dangerous, useless. Doesn't matter. We're all part of this crazy jungle. And when we die, we return to the others."

" **You're talking plants to a plant** … you must be some kind of stupid."

"No, I'm... Fine, you know what, I'm stupid."

And stupidly she attacked head on before vanishing in a flurry of silver-tinted petals which danced like lightning. Next appearing behind the monster, bisecting him, quartering him, eights, sixteenths-

"I'm mad, too, and none of that matters."

From these shredded remains came spores, the cloud of Zetsu drifted over to Obito's trembling form. Some wafted into his ragged lungs while others stuck on the surface like mushrooms, quickly gestating and overtaking the damaged human in a skin of parasitic fungi which rapidly reformed into a carbon copy of the plant-man.

"Roses, weeds, beasts, humans, Faunus- none of those names makes a difference." With eyes wide, she drunk in the blasphemous metamorphosis. She couldn't deny that which was the ugly truth, like the cooling body laying just yonder. "We're just people trying to live our lives! That's all this is!"

No response came as a singular red eye opened in the uncaring beast's forehead, and on the other side of its gaze a corresponding portal opened next to Ruby as she threw herself out of the way and into the slipstream.

"If there's a greater purpose, moral lesson- I don't care!" Blue flames consumed her as she got close to her target, but they were simply conducted by Bernoulli's guiding hands around her and the swing which nearly nicked the demonic eye. "I don't care about world peace, or some greater good- I just want a chance to live **my** story!"

Vines attempted to restrain her, but they melted as soon as they got near the silver aura surrounding the wide-eyed girl, trying to lasso the sun.

"The people close to me, to protect them- is that really too much to ask?" Unhindered, she cocked her scythe back and the aura followed. Coalescing around the metal another blade grew, silver sheen and crescent shape mimicking the moon as it raised high overhead. "They're all I have! Who are you-?!" The kamui vortex opened up just as she swung, intercepting the gleaming wave as it cascaded and tumbled and rocked the tide of stomach bile of everyone in Vale.

"-To take that away?!"

A lava flow of glass spilling into oblivion, that crystalline aa sped down the drain in front of it- but also around, through as it filled the infinite space and spilled over the edges. All three of Zetsu's eyes opened wide as that ocean of blades rushed towards him, seeing the only alternative was throwing himself out of the way.

The sound of a thousand claws on a thousand chalkboards being tumbled in the drum of a rock-mill. When it impacted, reality appeared to bend around the axis created by the immense gravity, and the stadium lurched sideways in the air. Miraculously everything held together.

-Until it didn't, and the bottom dropped out underneath them.

Ruby didn't notice. Simply staring at the spot of her devastation which had been, like all her efforts up to that moment- pointless.

When the floor sunk to the pitch of a wheelchair ramp, she suddenly dashed upwards to where Naruto's body was just starting to roll downhill. Sinking the tip of _Radiant Thorn_ into the tiles, she latched herself on with one hand and caught his tumbling form with the other. With the strength left over from whatever incredible and useless power that had been, she clung on. Simply trying not to be swept away.

Though the world around her groaned and cried in agony as it was slowly torn apart, she heard his footsteps approaching. Unable not to, she opened her clenched eyes to glare at Zetsu as he stood on the steep surface without a care- for it, for them, for everything slowly crashing down.

"Just leave us alone."

Holding as tightly as he once did, she dared the thing to try and separate the two of them in this endgame.

If he'd wanted to, he could have. She knew that. All this time she knew she was-

 _ **Pathetic.**_

An unrealistic dreamer, an optimist, someone who never gave up.

 _ **Cruelly stubborn. Set in your ways. I fail to see what it is he saw in you humans.**_

Even as Zetsu mutely approached, she still hoped against all hope that reality might change if she willed hard enough.

 _ **But… you don't have to believe in something for it to be true, do you?**_

Daring to look in that demonically swirling eye- what more could it do? She was already torn to shreds inside.

 _ **Life isn't fair.**_

"RUBY!"

Zetsu's head whipped to the side as if a meteor struck it. A bright yellow, flaming meteor which turned out to be a shower raining down planetary-scale destruction on that overgrown flora.

 _ **Maybe, it doesn't need to be.**_

"Now, Weiss!"

Barrage finished, Yang slammed her fist into the floor which by now had practically become a wall and stared up at her sister with the bloody bundle quickly slipping from her grip. The path ahead was illuminated with a chain of circular runes and she didn't think twice about letting go and blitzing up them.

Yang clung tight to both- nothing compared to how she held on to the boy in her arms, but it was enough even as her elder sister kicked off and dragged the three of them into open-air, scythe and all.

They landed sooner than anyone could have anticipated, getting the wind knocked out of them but not much else. That was a surreal feeling, until she realized they had somehow ended up in a Bullhead. Then, it became simply incredible.

"Pyrrha! Do it!"

Another voice called out, and she was surprised she even heard it over the rumble of the engines and labored pants of her sis with her ear pressed tight against her heaving chest.

The Amazonian's response was a primal yell which roared out over all the background cacophony. Including the mostly-metallic structure which had been abused far beyond what its designers had ever fathomed and groaning like a beached whale. It was rapidly going belly up through a monumental effort as that redhead screamed her lungs out over them.

"Squish the fucker like a pancake!"

Bringing a smile, despite it all.

Obliging, the Amazonian warrior gave one last concerted burst of exertion, fueled by the donation of Aura from half the passengers in the Bullhead. Once its keel was facing the sky, the anti-gravity engines in the bottom of the coliseum were torn from their housings. The structure itself didn't last long in freefall before it slammed down into the ground and kicked up a cloud of dust that almost swallowed Beacon.

Yet the iconic tower still stood tall over the sea trying to envelope it.

There were cheers all around, elations of victory. And as the sun pierced through the rising plume and framed a fairytale image, she was almost tempted to believe it.

Opening like a long mouth from the abyss to reach out and pluck them from their ecstasy, the invisible attack struck their vehicle and shook them from their revelries. Those cheers turned into cries as the Bullhead went into a tailspin, its counter-engines having gone AWOL into a pocket dimension.

This time the crash was more realistic, more believable. Not merely knocking the wind out of them, but knocking a good number unconscious as they were ricocheted off the hull. It was just her luck that the lifeless body wedged underneath cushioned her fall.

As the only cognizant witness in that delirious lull, it was her obligation to once again hear the deliberate footfalls approaching their wrecked craft. Great and terrible, she listened to the monster Zetsu approach unrelentingly, like the heartbeats of a demon.

Thu-thump. Thu-thump. Thu-thump.

She opened her eyes, duty falling on her to watch the end unfold.

The limp weight of her sister was gently removed from on top and placed aside. As was she, plucked from her reclined state like a babe and without resisting, propped up against an undamaged section of bulkhead.

It wasn't possible. Words she'd never dreamed of serving a purpose. Believing with every fiber of her being that as long as one kept up hope that life could sometimes mimic those idyllic stories.

"N-Naruto?"

" **Not quite.** "

Voice dark and familiar, like the nighttime she longed to regain.

"Kurama." Spoken as if it somehow made sense. "You're back."

" **Not quite.** " The blond repeated, rolling his shoulders and cracking his neck. " **Call me Yin, for now.** "

"Oh." No such disappointment, if that's what he was expecting. "Nice to meet you."

Flinching as he poked the newly healed flesh, the Yin half of Kurama looked back at his human counterpart with a half lidded, appraising gaze.

" **You're a strange one.** " But as he turned back around, she could see a smile stretching the familiar whisker marks from cheek to cheek. " **I think I'm starting to understand.** "

"Wait!"

He did, whether it was the pleading tone or the body doing it for him, he paused with his one foot out of the transport and the other striding towards the epicenter of the crash still shrouded in dust like morning fog.

"Will you… will he come back?"

The revenant didn't look at her, its guilt obvious in the weight on its shoulders. Maybe it would have been better not to say anything, to not build her hopes or dash them. That was what he reasoned, but it could not explain the lie that came from his mouth.

" **Anything's possible.** "

* * *

When Yin found Zetsu it was busy fighting a losing battle with its stomach, disgorging the remains of its last meal as a one-armed Obito dragged himself forcibly from the maw of the creature. He let the two struggle for a while, partly because it looked too gross to touch either one and partly because he wanted the plant-man to suffer whatever heartburn this would cause him.

He finally approached when the manifestation of Kaguya's will was bent double and mimicking the gestures of heaving, though he highly suspected the thing had no stomach to speak of. Obito having managed to squirm away defiantly.

" **Hey there, you ugly son of a bitch.** " Looking up at him disgruntledly, the possessed Naruto gave a Cheshire smile which bore his elongate fangs as he descended upon his prey.

" **Tell the old hag Jiji sends his regards.** "

* * *

Well, what now?

No supernatural connection was needed for him to interpret this question posited on that coquettish face. It was genuine, unlike the false-innocence plastered on top which served as a flytrap to those less savvy.

At least, that's what he believed. Never really understanding what went on behind that garishly-angelic visage, nor pretending to. Highfalutin sorts said that the eyes were windows to the soul. Hers were mutable, what lay behind shuffling faster than a magician with a deck of cards. So for him, there was never any reason to try.

"Got me on that one, doll." Leaning back on his impromptu chair, he shrugged his shoulders dismissively. "Oh, don't look at me like that. You really do look like a little girl playing dress-up in that thing."

Each word he spoke to her was a gamble, and he never knew quite what lay in the cards. White eyes might roll sarcastically, Brown might jeer and stick out her tongue childishly. Just as easily, pink might stick that blade through his gut as he reclined on the unconscious pile of White Fang they had collectively stacked up in the last twelve hours.

Closing his eyes, he waited with the disinterest of a long-time addict to see which it was.

A breeze tussled his orange hair and caused him to rejoin reality, noting that his recaptured bowler was missing yet again. Chuckling, he knew it hadn't gone far.

"Yes, yes, very cute. It's like looking at my future daughter, or maybe son- ow!"

Rubbing his tender ribs, he grimaced at the young woman currently sporting his prized possession and flaunting it with a delicate curtsy. A familiar shaking of the shoulders under that baggy garment ruined the walkway- image and told him she was giggling. Laughing as he was on the inside while feigning annoyance without.

The two of them were liars, him with his words and her with her actions. Not very good ones either, for both could read through the other's tells as easy as reading the suit dealt to a hand. For all the air of unpredictability and danger they presented, they were disgustingly simple.

But, that was the story they liked to believe.

"Well, I doubt they're going to bother looking for us after all this." Roman spread his arms wide to illustrate the apocalyptic scene which had once been a ritzy part downtown Vale. "-But there's not much reason to stick around, either. Can't shake down the fools whose knees are already rattling as it is." What was the point in robbing those who had nothing?

"Go…to…hell."

"Bad dog!" Scolding the body laying beneath him, he shifted so that he could whack the Faunus upside his dogeared head with his cane. "No barking."

Certainly though, someone like him couldn't stay anonymous for long, disaster or no. It was doubtful the survivors would tolerate being shaken down after the hell they had been through and the 'veterans' of Beacon sure as hell wouldn't cut them any slack. So as much as he hated to admit it, perhaps it was time to move on.

"Nothing good lasts forever, huh?" He asked rhetorically as he ambled to his feet, stretching to relieve his shoulders of the cramped conditions of the cell as well as the exercise he'd just put them through.

This gesture contradicted as a weight settled itself there. Adjusting his hat as Neo kicked her feet petulantly against her 'steed', he was forced to guffaw and amend this offhand statement.

"Yes, of course, except for you." Looking up at his faithful partner with eyes no longer bearing their costume, he asked. "So, where to now?"

A compass- his compass jabbing her parasol into the direction of the morning sun, unwavering in this course chosen at random.

"Alright then, let's go." Feeling that familiar tug on his soul as it hitched along for the ride, he glanced over his burdened shoulders to see that the symbol of humanity's defiance continued to stand erect, proud over the leveled remains of her accomplishments. "Figures…" He grumbled, almost wistfully.

"Can't seem to win against fools."

* * *

 _Life isn't fair. Only a fool believes that it is._

 _Maybe I am the fool, for trying to give it a happy ending. As if an act of self-sacrifice could sway the universe._

 _Still, we try. Despite knowing that there is no one there at the end to weigh the goodness of our souls, we try for the posibility. Despite the knowledge that it may not give us anything in return, we try for the sake of others. Despite the shear futility of manipulating this already rigged lottery, we try because there is nothing else to do._

 _Better it be a lottery than an elite club, for the one still gives hope. Hope that the bouncer lets you and your friend in, hope that the faded numbers in your had are picked, hope that in the overflow of people and events which constitute a life you are not forgotten._

 _Because every now and then, through pure chance, life finds reason to be incredibly, unrepentantly, inescapably,_

 _Kind._


	38. Paradisio

**What can I say that has not already been said? You guys are the greatest, and your support has been incalculable. As we close this off, I wish I had something profound to say or assurances to give. But no- just a few notes:**

 **Try to read between the lines in this one. Some things should be pretty clear, and others I leave up to your interpretation. What happened to Blake is one of the former.**

 **The reason I am posting this in the middle of the week is because I will be completely unavailable this weekend, and just didn't want to abandon you guys after dropping this. Plus, it's close enough that I probably have enough time to flee into the desert if I ruffle enough feathers.**

 ** **Since I haven't said it in a while, I don't own Naruto, RWBY, any songs by Gogol Bordello or Days & Daze* (even if I unabashedly stole a lot of lines from Eugene Hurtz.) ****

*****Only in my dreams...****

* * *

Only a few others were awake when he returned, and for that she was grateful. Even then, they were occupied gathering those that weren't or those too weak to do anything on their own. She was one of the latter, and so did the best to stay out of their way. Tucked away between pages.

With several possible fractures to her spine, Yang lay strapped to a stretcher and was still mercifully unconscious. Although serious, her injuries did not put her in any immediate danger and so she was moved off to a quiet corner of the wreckage.

By her side she stayed, while the world moved on around them. Looking only at her sister's busted and mangled hand intertwined with her own, and not the emergency response team running helter-skelter behind the scenes. They were beyond her notice, beyond her capabilities right then to think of the others who weren't quite as lucky as her and her sister. Ones that would need urgent treatment before the wound caused by the fractured rib flooded their lungs with blood, or the trauma from having their head treated like a racquetball against the bulkhead made it so they would never wake up again.

No, she couldn't think about them, as much as she'd like to it simply wasn't possible. It was hard enough to remind herself that this was a far better outcome then they ever could have hoped for. Cinder was dead, the Fall Maiden returned, the White Fang crippled, the Grimm around Vale scattered. And as long as she didn't look up from her immobilized sibling to see otherwise, all of her friends were still alive.

She noticed when he sat down next to her but made no comment on it. There was nothing left to say, and for that she was grateful.

Both were weary beyond measure. Him having stumbled in looking more sloshed than she'd ever seen Qrow, practically dead on his feet and with hardly a shred of clothing to his name that was not caked in all kinds of vileness or outright destroyed. She was sure she wasn't much different, and so didn't mind when he once again leaned heavily on her.

None of that mattered. All three of them together, drifting off into peaceful slumber, it didn't even matter that they might never wake up again. For that one time in too short a life, everything was as it should be.

And for that, she was grateful.

* * *

Nothing would ever be the same again. Everybody knew this, even before they received notice that all classes would be canceled for the foreseeable future. Perhaps they knew it from the very first day, the moment they set foot on Beacon's once immaculate promenade and looked up to that fairytale sight which even now seemed surreal in the fact that it continued to stand after all that had been thrown at it.

It wasn't the storybook ending anyone could have imagined, but no one was complaining.

There were those that could, but declined to. With all that was heaped on her shoulders, the new headmistress surely had reason. But Glynda was reserved as she returned with their missing teammate, tucked under her wing like a cracked egg.

Blake didn't say anything at all as she was passed into the arms of her friends, dressed in nothing but a ragged bed-sheet. Nor did she speak for days afterwards, whatever had happened that night affecting her profoundly.

The others could relate.

Whereas the now public Cat-Faunus declined to talk about her epiphany, everyone else could not shut up about it. Done with apologies- listening to them and issuing them, neither Naruto nor his professed 'tag-along' made any secret as to whom they were and where they came from. It was simply a reality that the denizens of that world were going to have to live with.

And they did.

Whether they were simply going with the flow, or if his existence was a profound illumination on a dark life, no one made it easy to figure out. Clear as day the change was there, hiding just underneath the surface of this new normality they molded for themselves from the scraps of everything they once knew.

But no one saw a reason to mention it. It simply was, and nothing else really mattered.

It was a lie, and one they happily carried on for a while.

* * *

"A dance?!"

Perhaps she should have been offended with the way everyone in the room looked at her with disbelief, as if the suggestion were the most incredible thing to happen to them in the past month. With a sigh, however, she realized that it probably was.

"With all that was going on, we never got a chance to attend the one before the tournament." Though she should have realized logic was all but useless with this group, Weiss nonetheless had a hard time forgoing it. "And with all non-essential travel service suspended, pretty much everyone's still living on campus…"

"Not to mention pretty much healed-up by now." Demonstrating, Yang stretched her back with hands raised high above her head and chest puffed out. The only pain experienced was that to her feminine pride as the only male in the room failed to notice.

"-So I mean, why not?" Ignoring the blonde's eccentricity had become easier as time went on, and Weiss had a feeling that it would be the same with the blond. "It'd be nice to actually have something to celebrate. For once."

Put this way, it was hard to refute.

"Well, It's just…"

"… we can't dance."

The harmony was like dissonance to the other two, tickling a instinctual nerve in their brains. No matter how hard they tried to convince themselves the synchronicity was cute, it their bodies' wouldn't see it as anything but unnerving.

"Is that all?" Indulgent throughout it all, Yang plugged herself in between the two and threw an arm over each shoulder. "Or are you just afraid of being outshined by your big-sis?"

Other biological buttons were the same, near identical consuls that she could manipulate with her eyes closed. She succeeded in sparking twin flames of competitiveness, yet sadly seemed to forget the new intensity was difficult to control.

"YOU'RE ON!" Both Ruby and Naruto exclaimed at once, earning another round of wincing.

In truth, it didn't really take that much to persuade them. Making fools of themselves was no longer a possibility nor consideration, and the only factor they had to consider was whether it would make people happy.

Speaking of…

"Blake?"

Easy for the casual observer to say that she hadn't changed with the way she kept to herself in the upper corner of the room. To those four, the Faunus' attitude had taken a noticeable downward turn. They no longer had to worry about her gallivanting off to settle old scores. Instead, it was the opposite problem as they could hardly get to her to leave the tent- now the room, as their dorm had been okayed for habitation once again. Sadly, the security of four walls did nothing in this newly vulnerable world.

At lack of an answer from the dark lump in the corner, Ruby extracted herself from her sister's grip and hopped on to the upper bunk where the pitiable creature flinched as soon as it felt the weight next to it.

"Blake? Do you think you'd like to come to a dance with us?"

"Dance?" Frostbitten lips cracked as they formed the one-word question. "A… celebration?"

While his immediate response had been the same as Ruby's, Naruto had trained himself to back off and let the others get used to him. He realized that despite how he felt, their relationship with him was going to be different and anything but natural.

Though now as he listened to those detached words wafting down from up above, he felt like it would have been better to offer his additional support, desired or not. If the arm tightening around his shoulders was any indication, Yang felt the same.

He actually didn't have to worry much about how his 'big sis' reacted to him. Nor Weiss, surprisingly, as she viewed him as an annoying, weird, childish but gifted warrior- just like Ruby. But ever since she was returned to them, Blake had become the unmentionable subject. He already had some inkling as to what the issue was, and was becoming frustrated with his inability to help.

"Yeah." A coiled snake or a broken wing, Ruby was not ignorant to the fact that she was dealing with something which required a delicate touch. Whichever, it was not something they could live with. "It would be nice to get everyone together, to celebrate what we still have."

"And what do I have left?" Hollow eyes peaked back from the gaps in disheveled hair and propped up on bags that were several shades darker than the mascara which hadn't been touched in weeks. "You finally got what you wanted. Me? With Beacon gone, so is my shot at redemption. Not a Huntress, not a White Fang, hardly a Faunus, a pathetic friend. I don't have an identity left. I don't even feel like a person. Ada- **He** took it from me, everything I had left. And I can't even claim revenge, as Glynda took that."

"You haven't lost anything." Not disappointed, but not relenting in expressing this truth. "Beacon is being rebuilt, it will rise again and so will you. You can still turn the White Fang back into something good. We'll help you. You still have us, your friends. We're still here."

But Blake wasn't, and eventually Ruby was forced to admit that painful fact when no response came after a long while. She dismounted the bunk and sat down on the nearest surface with a hangdog expression.

It was well within everyone's right to be angry with the melancholy cat for ruining the mood, but no one could quite do it. The elephant in the room was obvious, but no one had any idea how to deal with it, this situation far outside any of their experiences. It would have been beneficial to seek out Glynda as the resident shrink, had the woman not been cooped up in her new office for days on end.

So, not knowing anything else to do without causing further harm, they let it lay.

For now.

It was another reminder that this was reality, and it wasn't fair. And, that no ending was perfect.

Accepting this was arguably hardest on Naruto. He knew the girl as well as any of them, and yet also knew that his mere presence was causing her grief. It wasn't fair. Not for him, not for Ruby, not for Blake nor for any of them. If only they had limitless time to sort this out. But the clock on the wall refused to stop or even slow to allow for this time of contemplation, and every moment spent wallowing was one wasted.

Reminding him and reassuring him was the arm around his shoulders, squeezing gently in a show of mutual assurance. Yang looked tired as she stared down at him- they all did. It had been a hard few weeks helping to rebuild, both the school and the lives that were torn down. And clearly from this display, it would be many a week yet.

"So, we gonna do this or not?"

"Yeah!" Ruby cheered as she joined back in, glomming on and tackling her sister, freeing him from her grasp. "Ooh! I'm so excited! And nervous! And what about music? Decorations? Who can we get on such short notice?"

"I don't know, but don't make me sorry I suggested it." Weiss said, stress from the manic highs and lows of the evening already starting to cause a headache. "Can we think about it in the morning? I'm exhausted and can hardly think."

Enthusiasm aside, this suggestion was universally accepted.

"Soo… hate to bring this up..." Hearing the preamble, Weiss paused amid her evening rituals and shot a sidelong glare at Yang. She knew where this led and had pointedly avoided asking the same thing. Yang continued obliviously. "Where's he gonna sleep?"

How they could be so astute one second and so obtuse the next was a mystery. But there was no hiding that two-pair wide-eyed expression of ignorance.

"What do you mean?" Both looked at one another for answers before turning back to their elder sibling. "Isn't he sleeping with me?"

"That's why I didn't bring it up." Already checking out of the conversation with face-mask on and earplugs in, Weiss's mumble was missed beneath the rapid-fire sputtering of someone doing the damnest to keep the argument PG.

"You know what," Silencing herself with a broad gesture, Yang took a deep breath before she ran off again. "It doesn't matter. Do what you want."

"I don't understand," Speaking for the obvious discomfort, Naruto cocked his head at his 'sister's' strange behavior. "Did you want me to sleep with you?"

Taking a page from the heiress's book, Yang dove underneath her covers, clothes and all, and clamped the pillow down over her head. "Sorry! Can't hear you! I'm asleep!" Transparently fake snoring came soon after to drown out any follow-on questions, though it didn't completely manage to block the amused snickers from the pranksters.

"Turn out the lights already!"

They did, finally letting the room's energy dissipate into nothing.

If only every problem were so easy to solve.

* * *

"I know what you're thinking."

Because he did, he followed her around to the far side of the campus, where damage had been minimal and thus activity was as well. One of the few bastions of solitude left in the perpetual construction site, where someone would go if they wanted to be alone. Skirting around all the wreckage to come here was quite a trek for a girl who hadn't been out of the room in days, but it was important. As it was for him.

"I doubt that." She croaked, nonetheless attempting to hide something between her gaunt body and the single bench. "What could you possibly understand about the way us 'mortals' think?"

"I'm not a god, Blake." He approached slowly. Both for her peace of mind, as well as his. "I'm not normal, I admit. But then again, which of us are?" No matter how fast he had become, he couldn't leave a friend's life to chance. "We're all prone to mistakes. I guess you could say that I've made twice as many as average. But in all honesty, that number's probably more."

"Don't come any closer."

He obeyed with his feet, but not with his words.

"Don't you think I know what's going on? Don't you think we all do? Just because you won't say, doesn't mean it didn't happen. You're our friend, Blake. I am, whether you accept that or not. Just because I didn't have the exact same experience doesn't mean I don't know the thoughts running through your head now."

"What is it that you want? To analyze me? Add me to your 'collection of experiences'?"

"I just want to talk." To limit himself to that was painful, almost as much as her words that he couldn't help but take to heart. He could bear it, though. Maybe that's why he was here instead of his Other. "I could change my appearance if you're uncomfortable. Would it make things easier if I looked like Ruby?"

She couldn't help the unconscious flinch as her own body betrayed her. "You smell different."

"Blame it on biology, I guess." Another one of his mistakes slipped his mouth before he could catch it, and so quickly chased after. "I've seen both sides. Male, female, the good and the bad. Is it so hard to imagine that I- the **we** didn't entertain those kinds of thoughts at one time?"

"Yet more proof that you're stronger than us." Making no more effort to hide the kunai she stole in her rumpled dress. "That you're better than me."

"Is that the lie you're going to bet your life on?" Ears already drooped from malnutrition pressed flat against her head under that stern look of admonishment. "You know that's not true. None of it. And I refuse to let you use us as an excuse to kill yourself."

He could have plucked that knife form her weak grip with the greatest of ease. That he chose not to was far harder, and might prove to be another one of his mistakes. The premonition that continued to haunt him.

"Then what about any of the other excuses?" Threat near meaningless as her hand continued to tremble underneath his stern gaze. "That I'm a traitor."

"Lie." Flinching as if struck.

"That I don't deserve to be here."

"Lie."

"That I'm no good, broken, trash."

"Lie." Hearing the harshness in his own voice, Naruto gathered it all up and smothered it. "Someone once told me something in passing. I didn't understand it at the time, but now I think I do. 'Those who break the rules are trash, but those that betray their friends are worse than trash.'" So earnest he ignored her earlier warning and inched towards her. "We've all broken so many rules that we oughta be tossed in the dump- and maybe that's where we're headed, but we'll be there together. You didn't betray anyone, Blake. Your friends are still waiting for you to come back."

"But they won't always be there, will they? You won't always be here to stop me."

There came no rebuttal. It was obvious he was the wrong person for this, and his mistake was one that both he and Ruby were complicit in. Too caring, too determined, too jealous to be anything but harsh.

"No. We won't." No sense denying the hourglass which dribbled down for all of them. It was that very thing which brought him here, so that he might have one more chance to know the dark-haired girl before it ran out. "Nothing lasts forever. Certainly not happiness. Ruby and I may have gotten what we wanted, but it wasn't easy. I did a lot of things that I probably should regret but don't. Why? Because even though we know it's temporary, it's real. And, it's worth the pain."

Blake allowed him to approach and slowly sit down next to her. Maybe it was because she saw the gaping hole peeking out from the armor she had torn, and maybe it was because she wanted to know if there really was something beyond the suffering.

"And that's all the more reason to grab whatever joy there is." Gently he grasped the blade which she held loosely. "You think Adam took something from you, but that's only because you let him."

Before the ringed pommel had fully cleared, her slim fingers seized the grip and tried to wrench it from him. He would have let it if its point were to turn on him in retribution. But he couldn't- wouldn't take that chance as he clamped down on the diamond blade, ignorant to the way it cut into his palm.

Unable to wrench it away, she panicked. Made to leap up, escape from this unveiled predator before it could take what it wanted.

Knowingly compounding errors, he grabbed her arm and held her there next to him. Words came promptly like CPR- potentially harmful if done wrong, but steady, strong, life-saving.

"Please, Blake! You know I didn't mean it like that! Just listen to me for one second."

"Let go! Let me go!"

But he couldn't. Recognizing every misstep that he had made until that point did not lesson his resolve, only made it stronger to correct it. Thus he could not let her go and do something she would regret- the only thing she should ever regret.

"I'm not going to hurt you, I promise, but I need you to listen!" Her body was weak but even with both hands it was near impossible to keep her from wriggling out of his grasp as he tried not to do more damage than what had been dealt already.

Just as he sought to correct his mistakes, so too did Blake. Claims of worthlessness aside, she wasn't going to sit still and let it happen again.

"Don't touch me!"

The moment her fists struck him she knew something was wrong. Not the bizzareness of the situation, not that intoxicating unreality which gave her the courage to end things. No, this wrongness was entirely too real. His heartbeat under her hand a pounding hangover now that the sober scene registered to her malnourished mind.

"No…"

It shouldn't have been possible for her to feel worse than she already did. Yet with that kunai, she'd managed to dig a hole from the gutter in which she lay down to the sewer.

"It's not your fault." Talking of what as done to her, or what she just did to him- either seemed a delusion as she stared at the very real blood seeping through her fingers. "We all make mistakes, we all have regrets, things we wish we could go back and do over. But wishing so isn't going to let us. All it does is distract us from what's really there, from the good which still could be."

He took a step forward, she took a step back, still attached to him from the bit of metal sticking from underneath his clavicle.

"You're not broken Blake. No more than any of the rest of us."

He was the one with the back against the wall, yet her foot was rooted to the ground as he once again pressed forward. Instinct rebelling against it, mind fighting, yet some part of her desired- _needed_ this embrace to validate the hope.

"I speak for all of us when I say that we still love you, no matter what. Happiness lasts less than a lifetime, so don't let it end early, and don't let anyone keep you from it. Least of all yourself."

He would take it all. Her scorn, her blows, her tears, because it was his fault to begin with and because he could. It might not have been his penance or his lot in life, but it was what he chose to do. And he would keep on doing it, long after he could no longer hold the girl in his arms, and long after he said goodbye.

' _ **You're a fool.'**_ His temporary roommate offered unsolicited, grumbling yet again about having to patch him up.

' _Yeah,'_ He admitted. _'But I keep trying. Maybe one day I will get it right the first time, or things will change so that I won't have to.'_

' _ **Yeah, right.'**_

* * *

In the end, it was nothing short of a miracle.

Greater than that, because it was perfectly mundane. The convergence of a thousand individual efforts at a single place, a single moment. A thousand different pieces of life affecting and effecting one another to produce this extraordinary result.

Supplies came in as if they were grains of sand on a desert wind. Scrounged from the darkest, most forgotten corners of Vale's remnants. Borrowed from those who probably couldn't afford it, given freely from those that had nothing left but this. Helping hands revealed more about their cohorts than what had been shown their entire school lives.

And in turn, uncovered more about themselves.

No building could contain the festivities, not least because the grand hall was still under repair, but because the unspoken zest for life demanded a greater venue. It spilled from the kitchen outwards, everything feeding off that one hub which had somehow accumulated enough supplies to last for several days.

No tablecloths or formal niceties were necessary. Assorted lamps were strung on wires from unfinished corners and construction equipment, hanging there amidst the open skies like faeries and complimenting the stars which never seemed so bright. The rolling blackouts demanded and supported it, light pollution from the city dropping off to nothing and sequestering the campus in a veil of night.

Music came from the touched hearts of students and teachers alike. Vagabonds new and old passing through were not refused, they chipped in for the opportunity to share and a bite to eat. Instruments formal and improvised all had their turn on the makeshift stage. A constant and eclectic stream of sound that kept them dancing and swaying in circles, frenetic and lazy in tempo, hour after hour. The swaying of an indiscriminate coterie of colors, formal dresses ancient and modern, pristine and patched, outfits meticulously made from scraps mingling with guarded family heirlooms. Emotions pinned to the cuffs a more common accessory than a corsage.

Life lit up the night. Sometimes a frenzy, sometimes a slow-burn like a walk over hot coals where faith was the only thing keeping things moving. Grievances were hashed out in fits of passion and then promptly forgotten by all parties in a religious cleansing of alcohol.

Somewhere in that mess, someone was given penance. Somewhere, someone was pardoned. Somewhere, a bunny got her eye-for-an-eye, and a new comrade because of it.

It was the same sort of affirmation that took place before, whenever there passed a great calamity. Save this time there was not a soul on duty, no one remained the designated party-pooper nagging them all that their task was far from over and that eventually the drinks would stop flowing, the music would drift off and the fires would die out. Just for a moment, there was no tomorrow.

Just for one, fleeting moment.

Coming down from her high tower, the new headmistress attempted to preside silently in contemplation and nostalgia at the edge of notice. It was not to be as she was accosted by a never-ending stream of those concerned for her wellbeing, people whom she couldn't recall having spoken more than their name during roll dragged her into the bacchanalia.

Relatives and extended family were not excluded, and if they could make it they did. Conversations were light and optimistic, even between the estranged and strange members of Xiao-Long-Rose. Tai had opted to keep his beard, hoping causality would make him a wiser man than he was before. Qrow couldn't keep his teetotalism during the celebrations, and no one could blame him.

Not even the Schnee sisters who received his advances without prejudice (but with a good slap or two, later forgiven as it all was).

It was a time of forgiveness after a fashion. No one knew what would happen after, and no one cared to speculate as the possibilities seemed endless in that artificial _Mag Mell_. Happy to pretend that the mingling fae bewitched them for amusement- whose was uncertain.

A single moment, but one which spanned three nights of ecstasy where they slept during the gentle day. Sufficient time for many events of singular extraordinariness.

Plenty of time for frivolous dancing, as each took their turn with the blond novelty, spinning one into the other.

"It's astounding how good you've gotten in such a short time." Yet hiding his own spiritual inebriation, the Mistralian youth graced his dance-partner with a proud smirk.

"We have you to thank for that." With restraint only enough to let himself be led in the paces, the otherworlder smiled back. "I still need Shadow-Clones to catch up, but Ruby's a natural."

"Is that right?" Amusement as they swayed to the undulating waltz.

"You're surprised?" Despite self-depreciation, never missing a step as he carried on the conversation.

"No." Ren chuckled, twirling the shorter male with a casual grace. "No, I suppose not."

Surprise was too commonplace by this point, and yet it never stopped drawing the attention of those who should have been immune to it. Several other pairs stopped to watch the two friends in their elegant display, predictable bemusement which only added to the fantastical atmosphere.

She watched too, satisfied on the sidelines just to observe from an outsider's perspective. She did not need to be the one constantly by his side to feel the connection they shared, as it was stronger now than ever before. No inverse mathematics governed their energy.

To their joy and horror, they discovered it was impossible to get any closer than they were. Not for lack of trying, shedding layers until there was nothing but skin between souls. Eager, awkward, nervous despite, those unbroken nights were not a time for regrets, and so they didn't. They were on the same page- with this as with everything, and that was more profound than any physical connection.

"Hey there."

Swearing off embarrassment, her present rosy tinge darkened as it felt like she was caught doing something she shouldn't. But the blissful smile extended to her along with the hand brushed off any such notion.

"Care to dance?"

Not the blond Ruby was expecting, though she perhaps should have. Losing track of the hour, the day, it was probably just the right moment. "Alright." Laughing silver eyes stared beyond the young man to the dance floor. "Are you sure you don't want to dance with someone else, though?"

"Eh…" Already knowing what lay over his shoulder, Jaune pictured both their partners arm and arm. Now his turn to change hue as he caught on to her teasing tone. "*Ahem*, _she_ seems to be kind of occupied right now. I suppose I'll get my chance sometime, but I don't want to waste any opportunities that are right here in front of me."

Impossible not to laugh, as even in sincerity there was something undefinable about the gawky young man. She took his hand anyway, letting him lead her into the ebb and flow whereabouts the others bobbed.

Naruto and Pyrrha cut a wide berth, other couples giving them plenty of room as they stumbled and jutted about the area. Somehow two of the most graceful on their feet kept stepping on each other's toes.

"You're distracted."

"Sorry!" Chagrined, she looked back to see him with a playful smirk.

"It's okay." Chuckling as they narrowly missed running into another pair. "You're not very good at this, are you?"

Frowning at the slight to her performance, the redhead concentrated on her feet and yet managed to miss the next several steps anyway. "I haven't… practiced in a while." A true defense, but a fib he noticed with each flicker of her eye.

"I'm not that great either, ya know." With him, trying to lead her out of danger managed to make them more a hazard to the other dancers. "But I didn't mean the dancing."

Face matched hair as Pyrrha realized how easily she had been read. "I'm sorry." Admitting how rude she was being by not paying attention to her current engagement.

"I'll let you in on a secret." With a smile that was the equivalent of a pardon, he leaned in to her ear on his tiptoes with a husky whisper. "No one is."

Hot breath tickled her ear, scratched something in her brain which made her shiver.

"So why **did** you want to dance with me?" Getting back on his feet and into the swing of things before the current musicians decided to give up on them. "Not for the prestige, obviously. Was it to make him jealous?" His guess was no doubt as erroneous as their footwork. Admittedly, he didn't know nearly enough about the former champion and desired to rectify that.

"No." Shaking her head and becoming more relaxed, more in tune. "I just wanted to know what the others- what he sees in you."

"And?"

"I think…"

The intensity of his focus startled her and drew their catastrophic movements to a halt. An island of stillness and sobriety where the other dancers were able to safely navigate around them. She was about to answer but caught sight of something that made her pause. Another person not with the flow.

Naruto noticed too when she floundered with a response. He looked over his shoulder to the darkly-clothed individual hiding at the very edge of notice.

"Sorry-" Perfectly aware of the irony, he shot Pyrrha an apologetic smile. The statuesque woman in turn chose to emulate the divine mother, forgiving and urging him on. "-Gotta go!"

Watching him hurry off like a personal firefighter, Pyrrha sighed wistfully. Satisfied, bemoaning only the end of the song, a lost opportunity.

"I understand now."

That said, she was second-guessing herself when instead of heading for the pale woman under the garden lattice, he suddenly took a left turn into the bush and ducked out of sight.

She was not left alone and wonder for long.

"Milady?"

No regrets, happily exchanging one blond for another, she chalked up the oddity to just one more in that chaotic experience. Holding on only to the whisper, she held hands with her team captain as the next song began, disregarding all else.

Meanwhile, in the time it took for Pyrrha to forget her confusion, Naruto had reappeared next to the woman who was trying so hard to pass through that curtain into the world of the living.

"Are you going to join us, Blake?"

Cautious as it was, the girl still jumped at the greeting. Flinching at every unexpected noise and sudden movement, she turned with wariness.

"Do I… know you?"

"…Seriously?" The smile was meticulously molded into place and so stayed put even while his tone fell. "I guess that means I did a good job, but it still kind of hurts."

As if the cat-Faunus needed any better vision in the darkness, she squinted at his painted face while still keeping a healthy distance.

"Naruto?" Skeptical of her own eyes at first, the one-word question morphed into demand for explanation.

"Heh, heh, yeah, well…" Resisting the urge to scratch the back of his head and thus muss up the meticulously straightened hair, he fidgeted as nervously as a high-schooler on Prom night. "…Surprise?"

"Naruto…" Not reiterating, but working up the courage to ask the rest. "…Why are you dressed like a girl?"

With a long-suffering sigh he let himself droop, uncaring if the overall effect went with it.

"I dunno, to prove a point I guess?" Straightening up had him playing with the hem of the dress he borrowed from Ruby which was much, much too short. "And so that you could relax and enjoy yourself."

Amber eyes which had lost their luster were polished with each blink.

"For… me?"

"I'm sorry." Forgetting about all other discomfort as he focused on this one pain. "I shouldn't have pressed you before. I know I can be too blunt at times and that's probably the whole 'male testosterone' thing coming through. But I just hope you understand… I really do mean well. No matter how many times I screw up."

She did. He was like Ruby in that respect. Maybe not as pure of heart, but in his intentions. And maybe that was a good thing, for she of all knew the world wasn't always a nice place and it needed people who were willing to do what was necessary. She was even willing to admit that his actions were perhaps just so.

"I know it's going to be a while before you can feel comfortable around guys again, and I thought that this would help. So I just hope you can forgive me and," As if not connected to that face, that personality, the hand he held out appealed almost daintily. "would you honor me with a dance?"

Able to look him in the eyes for the first time, she saw the earnestness in his words. His actions spoke for themselves. He had gone through so much effort with the persona when she knew he was capable of simply casting an illusion.

She sniffed. "You hid your scent." Which also explained why she hadn't recognized him at first.

"It wasn't easy." A hint of pride and a little bit of bravado slipped through the heavy makeup, but she could ignore that easily enough.

"I know." Continuing to eye the hand as if it concealed a weapon. "You were wrong, though."

Unable to hold it, the smile on his face cracked. Before he could join the fragments on the ground, Blake caught him and lifted them both up.

"-I never blamed you." With her other hand she reached out and completely enfolded his. "-For any of it. I've always known that you're a good person, Naruto." Wedging a small smile on her face. "You're Ruby's, after all."

"As are you." Ballooning up that smile and raising the interlocked hands between them. Drawing them closer he noted her continued hesitance, but also the struggle against it. "Shall we?"

There was a dearth as if the music was waiting for them and in that pause her nod was heard clearly.

A melody as gentle as the way he held her hands floated them. She was so skinny and light, he had to stop and remind himself that she wouldn't simply drift away. With hands he could now use without fear, he wanted to feed her, care for her as long as he could.

Which lasted the song's duration, and then he was reminded that she was strong and could stand on her own.

"Thank you." A smile, small but true.

Repaying it, he tacked on a curtsy to her amusement. "It was nothing. However, I believe I should take my leave." Blake honestly looked disappointed. A little nervous too as she looked around, aware of the crowd for the first time. "I think there is someone who also desires a dance."

Eventually she saw what he did, and the smile returned.

"Mind if I cut in?"

"Not at all," He winked at Ruby as she slid in to his position, grazing his hands. "That is if the lady wishes it."

"I guess I wouldn't mind." Feigning reticence, she was quick enough to accept the gesture when it was offered and the two teammates gave themselves some space.

"Aren't you going to take that stuff off?" Ruby asked over her shoulder.

"Hmm?" Watching them move off dreamily, he was honestly content to keep doing so. "Bah, you're just jealous that I pull this outfit off better than you."

Trekking back, he felt his Other blow a raspberry, Blake give a coughing laugh, and somewhere off in the revelries an inebriated fashionista loudly supporting his statement.

He smiled, twirling with the crowd as he made his way through in a daze. The people blended around him, the lights blurred and reality tilted just a little bit off-center. He forgot what time it was, what day, what world he was in, what gender and what his name was. Not his companions though, his friends stood out like the lamps amid the night.

He didn't happen to notice as B took the stage though. The dark-skinned rapper replaced the plain-faced violinist who had played modestly in most songs that evening. Like B, no one recognized him nor could tell where he had come from. But he had carried the atmosphere for so long that no one cared. Not going far, he took up a position in the man's gargantuan shadow. From there he began a slow and somber drone to lay the groundwork.

A steady rhythm followed, a timbre and solemnity Naruto barely remembered the exuberant man capable of. The blond looked up from his uncomfortable high-heels when the first syllables in practiced English tap-danced over the audience.

" _The rungs of this ladder are broken_

 _We're stuck in a pit_

 _To forget the escape is the way out_

 _But what's one to do when the only thing comforting leads to an eternal sleep underground_

 _Everyone has their addictions everybody's weak and everyone someday will die_

 _If everything's random we're so insignificant and none of this matters then why even try_

 _We're all just costumed illusions of self_

 _We sift through the filth to discover our wealth_

 _But riches are not always silver and gold_

 _Just somebody to love and a clean bill of health_

 _Is what this life is all about_

 _And I know that it's easy to get caught up in trivial shit_

 _But when the roof is cavin' in just remember that none of this matters in death~"_

In voices even softer than B's unusual restraint, the other musicians on stage intoned the chorus, slow and enchanting.

" _~So take your hands off of the wheel and let the chips fall where they may_

 _Time is short and death is sure, so just be grateful for today~"_

"~ _A life time of whiskey a couple of years_

 _A life of mistakes for a couple of beers_

 _We're marionettes and the puppeteers clutchin' so fucking hard_

 _Trying to paint on a smile_

 _That they think looks right but their rights are our wrong_

 _The nights are too short and the days are too long_

 _When they want you to color inside of the lines_

 _But the picture looks better with scribbles outside_

 _Of the lessons we've learned_

 _When the bridges are burnt_

 _And the power goes out the control that you've earned_

 _Means nothing_

 _We're all gonna die_

 _We're runnin' out of time_

 _So what I do is none of your concern. just...~"_

The chorus faded in and out one more time after the indefinite ending, but it seemed to resound in the drunken minds now made sober by this provocative lyrical.

Hardly anyone recognized when the Kumo ninja left the stage with a smile, assuming everyone was too stunned to clap. They were, but Naruto still watched him go, circle around to join him leaning against the bare-wood table that was covered with more empty bottles than full.

The two shinobi stood side by side as near opposites.

"So… when'd ya learn English?"

"He, he, while you be hangin' with your crew, B learned a thing or two."

With no one else eager to fill the roll, the same violinist who'd played accompaniment stepped up once more. He looked out across the crowd and met their eyes with a wink that was clear even through his rose-colored glasses.

"…You only memorized the lyrics, didn't you?"

"Po-ta-toe, po-tah-toe." B smirked down at his smaller companion. "Learned that one too, ya know?"

Naruto's laugh was like the tinkling of glass as he leaned back against the table. "You're weird."

"You're one to talk, says the guy that's right now tucking his c-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence."

Instead of acting as a soundtrack to underscore actions, the music started up again to dictate the course of the party once more. Interrupting them as if he were a part of the conversation, that foreign musician started speaking through sound. A beat no faster than the one he set for B, merely feeling like it as each note bristled with barely-restrained energy.

Eyes lifted from his well-loved instrument, he shot the two a knowing look that balanced on a long-held note. The other performers looked to him now too, as did the audience as all were wrapped up on his upstroke.

It came down in tone that would have had any classical musician cowering, but had the audience leaping on their feet.

" _~In truth, we never give up on the philosopher's stone_

 _I guess anything you wanna do you gotta do it on your own_

 _For a love of you, for the love of me,_

 _For the love of ev-ery-one who's yet to be free~"_

The phrase was lost on Naruto, but not on B whose laugh was drowned out by the guitar and drums surging in for the chorus.

 _"~Borders are scars on face of the planet,_

 _So heal away my alchemy man_

 _When even atheist holds up a candle_

 _We rise again,_

 _We rise again!_

 _With a fist full of heart and relics of the future,_

 _We rise again._

 _With a fist full of heart and relics of future,_

 _Opa! We rise again!~"_

Letting the guitarist carry the tune, the unassuming man focused on signing his heart out. Chanting words in cursive, another language that neither he nor B recognized. It didn't seem to matter as they flowed out of his mouth and wrapped around the hearts of listeners. Jerking the people into a frenzy, both in turn feeding off one another and carrying the party forward.

Reignited, reinvigorated. Nothing seemed to matter any longer, and at the same time it was all more important than anything most had done in their short existences. It was safe to assume that no one would be forgetting either Jinchῡriki in the near future. Nor would they neglect the memories taken from this once-in-a-billion-billion chance.

"So, you really gonna leave this?"

And the thing which made it all special, the knowledge that it wouldn't last. Magic ephemerality a fleeting tear in his eye as Naruto looked on all the carefree people and answered.

"Yeah."

His fellow shinobi… his _friend_ grunted acceptance, leaving them both to watch and admire people who knew they had but postponed death and were promised many more hardships before it was over. Dawn would only illuminate the less-than-perfect truth.

But one could not simply sleep life away.

"Even in the light of the rising sun…" Past the horizon B stared, over his dark sunglasses which couldn't hope to eclipse that eventuality. "-Won't say it wasn't fun!"

Faces popped from the crowd, specialness even in the homogeneity. Naruto committed them to memory. Not simply a static photograph in his mind but coming with context, his heart thrumming along with the music and breathing life to the picture. The moment of bittersweet joy, a scar he would carry forever.

"Yeah." He agreed. "It really was."

Is. For that moment would live in eternity, just like every song ever sung, every story ever told.

" _~Living and loving!_

 _Truth is always the same_

 _Living and loving!_

 _The rest is insane…~"_

* * *

The end.

Not the day after, nor the one after that. Perhaps a week, perhaps several- it was all the same. Those joyous memories were like objects in the mirror, always closer than they appeared.

The same as any other, beginning with the sun rising through the window and baking the room, spurring him to leave the shared bunk before it lost its coziness. He decided to mix it up with a shower that morn. Something different, a ritual cleansing before fetching breakfast for the five of them.

Little mundane variances like that, surprises which never ceased to amuse him. Living in parallel with Ruby he learned she usually woke a half-hour later than he did, which allowed him to dote on her in the mornings. Alone before the rest of her team staggered upright at least an hour after that.

' _ **You really like it here, don't you?'**_ Quietly as he could, Naruto ducked in the bathroom with new clothes. Really, hand-me-downs from all his new friends. _**'Are you really going to leave?'**_

His reflection smiled back from the mirror, weary from cramming life in to every wrinkle. _'Yes,'_. His hand gently rubbed the side of his head, feeling the ridges and runnels that had healed unevenly from Cinder's burn. _'And no. Part of me will never leave, and part of it is coming with me.'_

There was a snort in his head which he drowned out with the rush of hot water from the shower.

' _ **You don't really believe that drivel, do you?'**_

Humming a soft tune, one persisting in his head from the festivities, he lathered up his hair that had grown nearly to his shoulders, letting it wash off his back and not minding the tingle of the scar. By the time he got to scrubbing his feet, it was clear that silence was his answer.

' _ **Why?'**_

Pausing with the towel around his waist, he looked at the mirror and blinked in surprise as if there were someone else in the fog behind him.

' _What do you mean?'_

' _ **Here you have everything you ever wanted.'**_ Jealousy and disparagement muffled by the towel running roughshod over his head. _**'I can't understand you. Are you some kind of masochist? Or is this a mechanism that all humans share, meant to keep you in the cycle of hatred by denying yourself happiness?**_

Naruto hummed as he rolled up the pantlegs on what used to be Jaune's old jeans. Making it seem as if he were contemplating the question but really just wondering if he would ever grow into them.

' _Love means having to sacrifice, doesn't it?'_

He exited the chamber, thinking on the ones he made a promise to so long ago and so far away. People he loved no less than the ones waiting for him on the other side of that door. He would do anything for them.

They were already awake in anticipation. Without prior warning, somehow kenning to the uniqueness of today. Special, and yet also perfectly mundane, normal, as if it was a simple 'see you later' and not a 'so long'. Smiles not betraying this.

"Well," Trying hard not to decry this truth, the former-heiress played along. "Shall we get some breakfast?"

Red and yellow left hand in hand in hand. Black and white, Weiss linked her arm to support her peaked teammate and drag her along whether she wanted it or not.

Happy, despite it all.

Or was it? Did there need to be any contradiction, or could it just be read as 'Happy'?

Naruto thought on this question along with his own posed to Kurama's unaltered ego while walking shoulder to shoulder with _his team_ down the scaffolded hallways. Was happiness finding the silver lining, the good in the bad, or was it something even more fundamental? Realizing that there was always light in the universe, so long as one did not look solely towards the center.

Trying not to think on this too much as they broke their fast on a simple meal of oatmeal and fresh fruit. Focusing on the faces, the talk, the rations which were a stark contrast from the binging several nights prior- but not in any way worse. Food for the body, as around him was food for the soul.

Always by his side, always there to help him, Ruby squeezed his hand which rested underneath the table. No doubt the touch was one of the handful that remained, but no one was counting.

There was no tallying of favors and no debts to be paid. What they did was done for love, and love is given freely. It is not something to be claimed or even earned- unrestrained as that blue sky over the heads of the group he lead on a pilgrimage out of the dining hall.

They followed him out to the cluttered lawn. From there, he avowed each follower in turn- there were so many of them. So many people their story had touched.

Now it was time for their own story, where they were the main characters and himself just a parable, a hieroglyph of love. They would go on ahead while he went back to help others catch up.

' _ **And how do you know that's even going to work?'**_ Voice of doubt uncalled for, but always there. _**'I could be lying, you know. It might be too late to save him, if that were ever my intention in the first place.'**_

' _It is. It's not. And it was.'_ Answering the questions in order while from the group he received a few gifts besides the clothes on his back. _'Because I believe in you.'_

' _ **Fool.'**_ A venom blunted by direction, turned inward and seeking solace without. _**'I do not pretend to fully grasp the workings of gods and the universe. For all I know, that Zetsu creature could have been telling the truth. What then?'**_

' _Then,'_ He began the arduous task of scribing the complex calligraphy onto the stone promenade, under the eyes of an audience who wouldn't dare look away. _'So be it. It doesn't change things.'_

' _ **Doesn't it? I'll admit you probably understand the mechanics better than I, as you have dealt with it on a physical plane. But one little mistake, one wrong line based on a false assumption and the whole thing could be ruined. The place I came from was without time and distance, passing through there might have unfathomable results. Sure, we may return to your world, but perhaps inside a volcano, in the middle of space where the Earth hasn't formed yet or at the end of time where the sun will die and everyone you ever knew will have as well.'**_

Naruto paused in his stroke, an oblong spiral in the image of a galaxy. _'Why did you help me?'_

' _ **What?'**_

' _Why did you choose to come here and help me? There was always the chance that I wouldn't go back for your brother. There are_ _ **still**_ _all the possibilities you mentioned. If you were worried, you could have done any number of other things which I know you thought of. Bided your time, argued more with Kurama to release the bridge- hell, you could have remained in possession of my body, and I doubt that I would have been able to stop you.'_

The sound of a contemptuous snort overlay his next brushstroke.

' _ **Maybe I wanted to give you a chance to prove yourself different than other ningen.'**_

' _I am not different.'_ Naruto contradicted with a bold stroke. _'And you wanted to believe in me- believe in that. The good that still exists in the world.'_

Where he expected a sneer or snide remark, all he received was silence.

' _ **Maybe I did.'**_

Proving the world still held surprises.

Depositing his brush in a stone inkwell that used to sit on the headmaster's desk, he traded it out for a pencil as he began to carefully sketch the last parts of the seal. When he finished, he looked up to see several dozen sets of eyes watching in anticipation, and one in knowing.

Ruby stepped forward and offered her hand. With a kunai he carved a new lifeline on her palm, letting the droplets of blood well up before trickling carefully into the stone basin, mixing with the current solution of ink and his own essence.

One by one the others followed.

People overflowing with life and hope gave it freely, expecting nothing in return- except that unspoken promise, that trust, the bond of extraordinary knowledge. None of which he would ever forget.

At last a shadow eclipsed him. B's smile was subdued but supportive, as sturdy as the wall of muscle which made up his physical body. After his turn the inkpot was nearly overflowing, but Pyrrha managed to help by mixing the iron in the blood and keeping it from spilling over the lips. He finished the circle with plenty of excess which he used to retrace all his other lines. It took a while, but he was in no hurry.

Time came soon enough, as it always did.

"See ya, squirt. Don't be _Ruto_ and forget to write." Strong face and even stronger hug, Yang was the first to move. And the first to be moved, as even then she could not hold back a few tears. "And thanks, for being there."

The first of many such thanks. For the strength he lent, Blake stepped forward. Even then, warring with herself.

For the hope he gave, Weiss came up, letting her vulnerability be seen by all.

For courage by any other name, Jaune shook the hand of his only living hero.

Because he could, Ren approached. "Don't be a stranger." He said with a sincere smirk.

For multitudes of individual reasons, and for all that they had unwittingly done for him. Proving he wasn't simply the man behind the curtain, but one among them. Just another traveler along that road.

His fellow rover was not exempt from this experience. Even with the language barrier still firmly in place, it was hard to interpret Nora's tearful separation any other way. B standing there with a firm smile while all the first-year students tried to pry the herculean girl from around his waist against her verbal and physical protests. If it could be considered strange, she was not the only one.

Qrow might have had a litany of words prepared for him, carefully considered and edited over the past weeks of near-silence. And he might have finally scraped up enough of the viscous sober courage to do it, had Naruto not acted first and embraced the man. Hard. It was highly possible there were a few pops from the man's back and sternum, as he purposefully tried to make the hug as uncomfortable as possible. Love was like that, too.

Taiyang knew that one awaited him as well, but came up anyway.

It was only barely into the afternoon when the list had been played out. Several hours hardly seemed enough to contain what passed, yet it all folded into a neat little quantized package in his brain that he could take with him wherever he went. Like the Kabutowari on his belt which had finally been bequeathed a name:

 _Shameless Folly_

Of course, there were other names missing. All of them hard to fault for their absence. He had toyed with the idea of offering Neo and her partner a place where their skills would be more appreciated. It would have been nice, but they would do fine on their own, that was certain.

Ozpin was harder to reconcile. But then again, maybe it was better that some things remain a mystery.

Now, as he waited patiently for the instantaneous flash of light to consume them, he reflected on all those different ways to say thanks and to say sorry. Out of all those goodbyes, all the different expressions of love, he would have liked to say that Ruby's had been the most memorable. That chaste kiss upon his forehead while she stood on her tiptoes had said so much, almost all that could be said with a single action.

But it wouldn't be the truth. For the shadow cast on the back of his mind from that intense light was none other than Glynda Goodwitch. A simple hand on his shoulder as her image mouthed the words:

 _Until we meet again._

* * *

" _Kurama?"_

" _Who else?"_

 _A question I was afraid might be answered in an echo. When it spoke, it give rise to the possibility of others here besides myself. How many were lurking in the nothingness, and I had simply refused to see them? What else had been there, hiding in plain sight?_

" _It's good to see you again." Without concealment, there was no way to be anything but sincere._

" _I'm glad to see you too."_

 _Happy to see anything at all, most of all someone who looked at me as something familiar. As if millions of lifetimes apart not enough to separate, the two of us no one can undo._

" _I'm sorry."_

" _I'm thankful."_

" _I left you here."_

" _You came."_

 _The silence was more painful than trying to speak, and so through the pain it caused me I tried to banish it._

" _Will you stay here?"_

" _No," Before he could leave I surged to hold on. Or was it he who reached for me? Which was which hardly mattered anymore. "We're going back."_

" _Back?" Back by going forward, it was all the same as he pulled me along. Steps taken on nothing, towards nothing. "Where?"_

" _Home."_

" _Home… where the heart is."_

" _Yeah, that's right."_

 _It all became clearer as he led me onwards. Never much ahead, always by my side. From the blinding light faded a doorway which opened as we approached. Inside there was another light, which revealed I had been in shadow all that time._

* * *

"Kurama?"

Warbling cries of birds and the shrill solos of cicadas all trying to outdo one another was the only thing that greeted him for a while as he sweated under the oppressive heat of the tropical island.

' _ **Who else?'**_

Genuine sarcasm, churning like a stomach ache as limbs were stretched and muscles flexed.

With a whoop he flopped backwards, looking up at the canopy dyed amber in what could have been the beginning of a new day or the end of an old. Laughter heaved his chest as he flailed around on the ground like a starfish, craning his neck to see everything and everyone right where it should be.

"We're back."

' _ **It would seem so.'**_

"I'm sorry." Apologizing for his eyes which began to shut on their own, even as others were opened for the first time. "I hope you weren't waiting long."

' _ **Mm. Just an eternity or so.'**_

Already he was asleep, breathing steady in and out with the giant turtle underneath. The world propped on its back of no consequence. His dreams- or perhaps his reality bringing a smile to his face.

' _ **Just an eternity. Not long at all…'**_


	39. Sub Rosa

_Once upon a time is now, long, long gone. For those of you who desire that 'happily ever after' which is due, I am sorry to disappoint. Reading this, by now you should have understood that life is hardly fair._

 _How I wish I could say that this were not so. How much I desire to assure you that the little boy and the little girl lived long and continued to dream night after night, year after year, living lives of adventure and fulfillment. But this would be a lie. And satisfying it might be for a while, eventually it would be found to pale against the glaring truth._

 _I would tell you if I could, but the truth is I don't know. What happened after the boy returned home is a mystery. The two would stop being able to see the that marvelous other world except in dreams which were truly dreams. And upon waking, it would bestow them only with a hunger that could never be sated. Slowly, perhaps, wondering if it ever existed at all._

 _To quell my own dissatisfaction, I sometimes imagine his fate. I like to believe that he made it home with his comrade and partner in tow. Returned in perfect time to enjoy that which he had left behind, the seeds he had sown and the things which had sprouted in his time away._

 _Both the good and the bad. As a self-appointed caretaker of the world, his garden would always need pruning. Even if he already staved off one plague, he would not let himself fall into complacency. Because by then he knew that death and destruction always lay around the corner.  
_

 _But also, beauty and illumination which sprout from the ground, incipient to every world. And for that, he would continue to improve himself, cultivating and nurturing the things he loved. And continuing to imagine that castle in the sky at the top of the beanstalk._

 _One day, perhaps many years later after the little boy had long since become a man, he would look up to that place on high as he heard his name on the breeze. He would blink blindly into the noonday sun and sneeze, as if somewhere out there, someone was talking about him.  
_

 _Walking by his side would be his teammate, his friend, his spouse, his lover, his family. Sometimes with a plebeian expression, sometimes with a divine grace, sometimes with a fiery temper and a scowl - but never the face of his dreams. She, he, they would look to him and ask: "what is it?"_

 _He would smile and reply softly, lovingly,  
_

" _Nothing, nothing at all."_

 _In lieu of knowing, this is what I like to dream happened. If it gives you satisfaction, you may believe it too, and no one will contradict you._

 _As for the little girl_ _she_ _-_

" **There** you are!"

The author had to restrain his hand from skittering off the page and ruining the passage which had already been solidified. Further restraining it from reaching out and slapping at the disturbance which now loomed over him with a smile oblivious to the interruption she had caused.

"I wasn't exactly trying to hide." Voice snapping instead of the pen in his hand.

"You also weren't exactly trying to pay attention." She admonished, unfettered of the annoyance in his voice. "This _is_ a huntsman academy, what do you think he would say if he knew you were so easily surprised?"

"I have no earthly idea." As he drawled, he noted that his writing had not emerged unscathed, and that a fingernail-long streak crossed through the last line. He issued a mild growl in irritation as she draped herself on his shoulders and started playing with his already messy hair.

"Then how 'bout an unearthly one?"

"What good would that do- and stop that!"

"It entertains me." Explaining both away with a smile, she nonetheless left him to flop on the plushy bed behind the desk, moaning towards the drab white ceiling. "It's the least you could do to indulge me after we spent so long looking for you."

"Yeah, well, no one asked you to."

"Of course not!" The scandalized exclamation lifted him off his seat and had him whimpering as he came down, both from the noise right next to his sensitive ears, as well as the abuse his writing was suffering as it nearly tore in his anxious grip. "You should know by now! Friends help one another without asking. I see you acting down and I have a need to cheer you up!"

"Do I look depressed?" Almost making the question rhetorical with a smile that was visibly bolted on.

"Yup!" She chirped, popping the rivets and causing him to deflate with a sigh.

"What do you want, Ruby?"

"I told you, silly." Gratefully, with a gentle hand she extracted the wrinkled page and set it upon the desk without him resisting, sitting down in front of him on that low corner. "I'm here to cheer you up. You've been working on your writing almost non-stop for the past few days, avoiding people just so that you can work. I know you realize it, and I know you know the things I'm trying to tell you because I've read what you've written, Yin."

"Fine, I might be a _**little**_ irritated because I've told you to stop calling me that."

"But you also told me to call you that."

"-That was for the disambiguation! My name is Kurama, I'm the only one of us here damnit!"

"Swear jar."

Ready to tear his burnt-blond hair out by this point, he just let his head smack loudly into the table. Groaning again as he realized it smashed right into his current page, further rumpling the precious lines.

The physical pain was nothing, especially when she resumed messaging his scalp. Enjoying her touch, not that he would ever admit that even to himself.

"What I'm doing is important." His defense was muffled by the particleboard table, but that wasn't what made them weak. "Besides, it's not a sad story- I don't think."

"No, it's a happy one." Ruby agreed, humming a tune which should have been familiar. "I think that you're just forgetting that because you haven't been spending time with us. The real people, and not the characters."

"It's only been a few days. I'm so close to finishing. I'll hang out or whatever as soon as I'm done."

"You've been saying that for weeks."

"No, I have not."

"Sure. And I'm not braiding your hair right now."

Nearly knocking into her as he shot up, and then almost falling over as his chair balanced precariously on two feet. While steadying himself on the bedpost with one hand, he checked the back of his head with the other. He glared when he felt the telltale knot near the base.

"See!" Meeting his glare with her hands on her hips. "You're such a party-pooper. You're acting more aloof that Blake normally does!"

"I resent that." From the shadows of the hallway the woman in question materialized. No longer cutting a ghoulish image with ragged hair and protruding ribs. "I agreed to go along with you and help you find him, didn't I?"

"Yeah!" The light in the room remained the same as she brightened and he dimmed. "Alright then, that settles it! Two against one, Yin, you're coming with us!"

"One: you never told me where. Two: you can't make me. And three: I told you to quit-"

"Oi! I heard voices. Rubes, Blakey, is that you?" Bright as the sun, Yang stuck her head around the corner. "Aha! So he is _Yin_ here! I though someone checked already."

"I did." Blake rolled her eyes. "He must have been actively trying to avoid us."

"Gee, I wonder why?" Wondering in fact if he could still make a break for the window- but his pen and paper were still on the desk with Ruby and now Blake between. He couldn't leave the words to their curious perusal. Plus, and he hated using the electronic scrolls.

"Yeah," Cutting off his grumbling as well as his exit, the busty blonde wrapped him up in a one-arm hug. "I can't imagine why you wouldn't want to hang out with us! We're going to see the new _Deadswim_ movie with JNPR and CFVY, and we need you to balance the numbers. Please? It's got gratuitous violence and nudity!" With physical emphasis, she pressed him further into her chest which apparently had little more effect than when she'd tried with Naruto.

"Actually, the deal was 'buy 3 tickets and get the fourth free.'" Saving him from having to stress-test this assumption, the former resident stick-in-the mud waltzed in and appraised the rest of her team disparagingly. "-So he would still be the normal price. The theater caters to Beacon students after all, who, need I remind, are _**punctual.**_ " Weiss jabbed a finger as sharp as _Myrtenaster_ at the clock on the wall, to illustrated that they had only five minutes to catch the bullhead to Vale.

"But we **do** need him! Please? It's our last chance before school starts up again."

"Absolutely! How can we function without both Yin and Yang? It's the Zen of partying!"

"Somehow I think you'll managed." Trying and failing to slip away, he shot a pleading look at Weiss whom he hoped was on his side. "And my name is Kurama! Get it right!"

"Nope." As the 'p' popped, his scarlet eye twitched. "You look like a feral version of Naruto and none of us have every met his Kurama, so we have to call you Yin to distinguish you from anyone else."

The freneticism of the room stilled as Weiss expounded this tidbit of logic. It didn't stop the hands on the clock though, and she reminded the stupefied occupants of this with an irritated cough.

"So, are you coming with us peacefully, or do we have to do this the hard way?"

Honesty of the threat aside, he doubted the little reaper could do much to actually make good on it, even with all her teammates in support. But was it really worth his resistance? What was the point in trying to finish it now, anyway? The pages would still be waiting for him when they returned.

But would he be back? Considering what happened every time they went out for a 'normal' recreation, there was always the chance that something would go catastrophically wrong. In an interesting story it always would, and theirs was still being written.

He was just scared to forget. That the rest might be lost before he managed to morph thoughts into words.

"Alright." He relented, covering up his pointed ears to protect them from the deafening cheer. "-Just let me finish this first."

Erased and defaced, written and rewritten, this latest attempt was still the best even though it was barely legible by that point. So he was justifiably horrified when as he reached to put pen to paper, the writing instrument was snatched from his hand. Beyond aghast when the blonde scratched something across the bottom of his parchment, looking up at him with a goofy grin.

"There!" She declared proudly. "Done!"

After the ordeal and with his body incapable of doing anything else, he let the four girls drag him along on their journey where he would be witness and sometimes willing participant to their adventures. Eventually, coming to realize for himself words always fell short, remembering the reason he stayed in their world to begin with.

That secret so well-kept underneath the guise of a rose-colored world.

For now though, he stared unwavering at the chicken scratch across his masterpiece, disbelief doing nothing to remove those two words from the page and from his mind.

 _The End._

* * *

 **This is it, my friends. Love it, hate it, it simply is. Maybe not the happy ending you were expecting, but one that I feel does justice. Maybe I'm wrong- in fact I most certainly am. After all, this is not just a fantasy of my deranged mind, but a product of my interactions with everyone on Fanfiction and beyond. So, my thanks and apologies. We are still learning.**

 **However,**

 **If we shadows have offended,**

 **Think but this, and all is mended,**

 **That you have but slumber'd here**

 **While these visions did appear.**

 **And this weak and idle theme,**

 **No more yielding but a dream,**

 **So, good night unto you all.**

 **Give me your hands, if we be friends,**

 **And Robin shall restore amends.**

 **~Until next time, in the Bardo**

* * *

Deep within the night, when all hunters were asleep and weapons locked tight,

A shadow stole through the empty room, amber eyes that split the gloom.

Her hackles raise, a sleeper she gazed,

A snore – best she not linger more.

Creeping up to the forgotten desk, where paper and pen lay at rest,

She filched one and then the other, while the owner lay under cover.

A single stroke but one which spoke

Of volumes yet untold. A masterpiece, if she should be so bold.

A silent laugh to avoid his wrath,

She slipped from sight having made wrongs right.

As she traced back through the hall, Blake mused through the nighttime pall.

That there was still light within the dark

And not betrayed by the morning lark

To this end she left behind

A single question mark.

 _The End?_


End file.
